^B   5Sfi    bDS 


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GIFT  OF 


^^^s^x^iw^  M(!A^ 


~f  7       ^   -  O    . 


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COMPOSITION 
PLANNING 


BY 

JOHN  BAKER  OPDYCKE 


HIGH   SCHOOL  OF  COMMERCE,   NEW   YORK  CITY 


Well  he^un  is  half  done 


D.   APPLETON    AND    COMPANY 
NEW    YORK  CHICAGO 


S,o 


Copyright,  191 3,  by 
D.  APPLETON  AND   COMPANY 


TO 
MY   SISTER 


258577 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/compositionplannOOopdyrich 


PREFACE 

The  author  of  this  manual  is  strongly  of  the  belief  that 
it  is  the  business  of  text-books  only  to  suggest ;  of  teachers, 
to  direct  and  guide;  and  of  pupils,  to  work.  No  attempt 
has  been  made  in  the  following  pages  to  "say  it  all".  The 
most  that  has  been  attempted  is  to  be  wisely  suggestive, 
more  work  being  left  for  the  teacher  to  do  than  has  been 
done  by  the  author,  and  much  more  being  left  for  the  pupil 
than  has  been  delegated  to  the  teacher.  The  illustrative 
material  has,  therefore,  been  kept  at  a  minimum,  it  being 
much  better  for  the  pupil  to  seek  and  find  his  own  illustra- 
tions for  principles  he  has  studied  than  to  have  them 
served  up  for  him.  Particularly  has  it  been  the  intention 
to  throw  him  on  his  own  responsibility  in  the  last  four  or 
five  chapters  of  the  book.  Here  the  knowledge  gleaned 
from  the  earlier  chapters  should  stand  him  in  such  stead, 
if  he  has  done  the  work  faithfully,  as  to  enable  him  to 
proceed  in  planning  the  various  types  of  composition  with 
but  little  suggestion  and  guidance.  His  progress  always, 
everywhere,  means  the  mastery  of  elementary  details  to 
such  a  degree  that  he  can  proceed  with  fewer  and  fewer 
of  such  details  as  he  pursues  any  subject. 

However,  consecutiveness  of  development  along  any 
hard  and  fixed  line  is  impossible  in  so  fluid  a  subject  as 
English  composition.  It  may  be  necessary,  it  may  indeed 
be  very  wise,  to  ignore  the  order  in  which  the  various  sub- 
jects are  treated,  and  to  take  them  up  for  study  most  irregu- 
larly. This  depends,  of  course,  upon  the  individual  needs 
of  pupils.  It  is  quite  conceivable,  for  instance,  that  Chapter 
X  should  precede  Chapter  II;  that  Chapter  V  should  per- 


VI 


PREFACE 


haps  follow  Chapter  IX ;  and  so  on.  These  are  matters  that 
every  teacher  must  settle  for  each  and  every  individual 
class.  It  too  frequently  happens  that  teachers  make  the 
mistake  of  allowing  consecutive  numbering  of  chapters  and 
pages  to  determine  the  order  which  a  student's  career  of 
learning  must  follow.  This,  it  need  not  be  said,  is  very 
often  a  most  serious  blunder.  The  first  aim  must  always 
be  to  get  at  the  teaching  point  with  the  pupil,  wherever  in 
the  book  (or  out  of  it)  that  may  mean  to  begin. 

The  object' in  the  present  book  is  not  to  teach  how  to 
write,  but  to  teach  how  to  go  about  writing,  how  to  pre- 
pare to  write,  how  to  begin  to  write.  For  this  reason  it  is 
advised  that  a  good  grammar  or  rhetoric  be  used  along  with 
the  Composition  Planning,  as  a  supplement.  At  any  rate 
spelling,  punctuation,  and  their  many  kindred  subjects  must 
always  be  taught,  whether  their  teaching  be  provided  from 
books  or,  what  is  better,  from  the  teacher's  own  ingenuity. 
Composition  work  in  our  schools  has  come  into  more  or 
less  bad  repute,  not  because  the  market  has  not  been  sup- 
plied with  composition  books,  but  largely  because  pupils 
have  been  allowed,  and  therefore  have  been  taught,  to 
write  and  say  things  before  properly  meditating  or  consid- 
ering them.  We  complain  of  our  youth,  especially  in  our 
cities,  for  being  "rattle-brained",  confused,  unsettled  in  their 
thinking.  This  is  but  the  natural  outcome  of  the  many- 
sided  interests  that  modern  life  with  all  its  complexities  is 
charged  with.  Add  to  this  condition  the  indefiniteness,  the 
fluidity  of  a  subject  such  as  English,  and  there  arises  a  situ- 
ation of  the  greatest  possible  bewilderment.  But  instead 
of  being  a  detriment,  all  of  this  may  be  turned  to  a  most 
wholesome  opportunity  indeed,  if  properly  controlled  and 
managed.  The  mental  range  and  activity  of  our  modern 
youth,  applied  under  able  guidance  and   direction  to   the 


PREFACE 


Vll 


problem  of  oral  and  written  expression,  can  be  made  pro- 
ductive of  results  unequaled  by  those  in  any  other  field  of 
study.  No  one  is  justified  in  denying  that  the  harvest  will 
be  fully  worthy  of  the  most  careful  planting  and  nurturing. 
It  is  this  problem  to  which  the  present  work  devotes  itself. 
It  aims  to  give  the  pupil  control  and  mastery  of  his  knowl- 
edge and  through  this  mastery  to  organize  that  knowledge 
in  such  a  way  as  best  to  present  it  to  others. 

Among  the  many  faults  of  the  book  the  author  antici- 
pates that  it  will  be  criticised  most  severely  because  it  makes 
composition  building  too  mechanical  and  artificial.  He  sees 
that  this  may  possibly  be  a  justifiable  criticism.  But  he  has 
already  said  that  much  has  been  left  for  the  teacher  to  do, 
and  he  wishes  to  point  out  at  once  that,  among  the  many 
things  he  looks  to  the  teacher  to  accomplish,  none  is  more 
important  than  the  rescue  of  the  pupil  from  any  harmful 
mechanical  or  artificial  tendencies  which  may  be  super- 
induced by  the  following  chapters.  He  has  aimed  to  make 
a  very  indefinite  and  uncertain  subject  a  little  more  defi- 
nite, a  little  more  mechanical,  if  you  please.  In  trying  to 
do  this  he  may  have  erred  on  the  other  side.  If  so,  he  has 
but  paid  the  teacher  the  compliment  of  presenting  oppor- 
tunity to  prove  efficiency.  He  believes,  however,  that  the 
average  pupil  will  sooner  or  later  seek  and  find  his  own 
fluent  medium  of  expression  the  better  for  having  been 
almost  mathematical  in  his  fundamental  work  in  English 
composition. 

The  author  wishes  to  thank  the  following  publishers 
for  their  courtesy  in  permitting  him  to  quote  from  copy- 
righted works :  Messrs.  D.  Appleton  and  Company,  Messrs. 
Longmans,  Green  and  Company,  The  Macmillan  Company, 
and  Messrs.  Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 

J.  B.  O. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 


PLANNING. 


PAGE 

Its  Origin — Its  General  Use — Its  Value i 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE    RUNNING    PLAN. 


Sequence — Proportion — Subordination — The  Graphic  or  Pic- 
ture Plan — Adherence — Exercise 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE    INFORMAL    PLAN. 


Selection  and  Rejection  of  Material — Generic   and   Specific 

Words — Arrangement — Uniformity — Exercise  .  i8 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   FORMAL   PLAN. 

Extensive     Subordination     or     Subdivision — Scope — Tabula- 
tion— The     Running-graphic     Plan — Exercise        .        .      35 


X  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE   PARAGRAPH    PLAN. 

PAGE 

Conversation — Topic  and  Summary  Sentences — Key-words — 
Echo-words — The  Paragraph-Composition  Plan — Topic, 
Summary,  and  Subordinate  Paragraphs — Methods  of 
Paragraph  Development — The  Composite  Paragraph — 
Exercise      .       .        . 56 

CHAPTER  VI. 

OTHER    FORMS    OF    OUTLINE. 

The  Topical  Plan— The  Phrasal  Plan— The  Clausal  Plan— 
The  Sentence  Plan — Various  Plans  Combined  and  Inter- 
changed— The  Deductive  or  Study  Plan — The  Bracket 
Plan — The  Parallel  Plan — The  Headline  Plan — Exercise      85 

CHAPTER  VII. 

POINT    OF   VIEW   AND   PURPOSE. 

Explanation  of  Point  of  View — Kinds  of  Point  of  View — 

Purpose — Its  Uses  and  Abuses — Exercise        .       ,.        .     120 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    letter    plan. 

Kinds  of  Letters — Value  of  Planning — Parts  of  Letter — 
Form  of  Letter — Punctuation  of  Parts — Brief  Illustra- 
tive Plans  for  Different  Kinds  of  Letters — Exercise        .     137 


CONTENTS  xi 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   WRITTEN    COMPOSITION. 

PAGE 

Titles  and  Subjects — Form  of  Written  Work — Sentences, 
Paragraphs,  Words — Sequence — Coherence — Unity — Em- 
phasis— Variety — Exercise 174 

CHAPTER  X. 

'•*  the  oral  composition. 

Form — Position — Voice — Breathing — Gestures  —  Concentra- 
tion— Pronunciation — Grammar — Usage  —  Conversation 
— Extemporaneous  Speaking — Prepared  Speeches — Ex- 
ercise   196 

CHAPTER  XI. 

THE    KINDS   OF    COMPOSITION. 

Definitions — Relations — Plans — Exercise         ....    219 


CHAPTER  XIL 

THE    EXPOSITORY    PLAN. 

Definition — Relation  to  Description — Plain  Exposition — In- 
verted Exposition — Narrative  Exposition — Enumerative 
Exposition — The  Character  Sketch — Exercise        .        .    225 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE    NARRATIVE    PLAN. 

PAGE 

Definition — Parts  of  Narration — Slow  Narration — Rapid 
Narration — Forms  of  Outline — Introduction  and  Conclu- 
sion in  Narration — Biography  and  Autobiography — Ex- 
ercise .  .         .       ' .         .        .        .        .        .        .     246 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

the  descriptive  plan. 

Definition — General  Descriptive  Plan — Point  of  View — Irreg- 
ular Forms  of  Plan — Simple  Description — Description  by 
Comparison — Description  by  Effects — Illustrative  Plans 
— Exercise  .         . 265 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    ARGUMENTATIVE   PLAN. 

Definition — Terms  of  Argument — Arrangement  of  Material — 
Order  of  Discussion — Single  Debate — Team  Debate — 
Partition  of  Argument — Rebuttal  or  Refutation — Exer- 
cise       290 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  DRAMATIC  PLAN. 

Methods  of  Discourse — Indirect — Direct — Dramatic — Punc- 
tuation— The  Dramatic  Plan  (Scenario) — The  Character 
Cast — Specimen  Plans — The  Stage  Setting — Stage  Di- 
rections— Exercise 314 


COMPOSITION  PLANNING 


CHAPTER  I 
PLANNING 


Order  is  Nature's  first  law.  We  have  often  heard  that 
statement  without  understanding  fully  perhaps  its  true  sig- 
nificance. Probably  it  is  impossible  for  us  ever  to  under- 
stand it  fully.  But  so  far  as  we  are  able  to  see  with  our 
limited  vision  we  can  discern  without  much  difficulty  that 
the  phenomena  about  us, — the  rising  and  the  setting  of  the 
sun,  the  alternation  of  the  seasons,  the  ebb  and  flood  of  the 
tides,  the  growth  and  development  of  animal  and  plant  life, 
the  regular  recurrence  of  night  and  day,  the  rhythmic  beat- 
ing of  our  own  hearts, — all  observe  laws  of  order  and  har- 
mony which  are  necessary  to  their  well-being  and  to  that 
of  our  little  world.  If  this  order  be  interfered  with  to  the 
slightest  degree,  confusion  results.  And  from  this  we  are 
led  to  believe  that  there  has  been  a  plan  which  we  call  the 
Divine  Plan;  that  there  has  been  an  organization  promul- 
gated by  a  greater  Organizer.  If  this  were  not  so,  we 
should  justifiably  expect  the  stars  to  tumble  down  upon  us 
higgledy-piggledy;  we  should  likewise  expect  to  have  win- 
ter put  in  an  appearance  when  summer  is  due;  to  have 
trees  grow  root  upward;  to  have  our  hearts  beat  rapidly 
one  day  and  then  take  a  rest  for  a  day  or  two.  In  short, 
we  should  have  an  unendurable  chaos,  were  the  great  natu- 
ral order  or  plan  of  things  to  be  disturbed  for  an  instant. 

I 


2        ,.   ;  :  ♦:  ;•  .CQMPaSITlON    PLANNING 

Now,  man  is  aware  that  he  owes  his  very  being  to  this 
inevitable  order  and  he  accordingly  plans  or  organizes  his 
work  after  his  Teacher.  He  has  learned  very  well  indeed, 
by  much  bitter  experience,  that  he  can  hope  for  no  success- 
ful outcome  of  his  efforts  unless  he  spends  some  time  medi- 
tating upon  the  method  best  calculated  to  bring  about  their 
realization.  He  plans,  he  organizes,  he  outlines  roughly  at 
first,  he  tries  and  tries  and  tries  again  to  frame  a  workable 
scheme  or  order;  then,  having  hit  upon  the  one,  he  goes 
to  work  and  produces  the  long-dreamed-of  thing  with  ease. 
Does  he  long  for  a  house  in  which  to  live  ?  Very  well ;  he 
has  often  been  caught  by  storm  and  been  obliged  to  find 
shelter  beneath  the  friendly  old  tree  in  his  path.  Now  he 
looks  upward  and  studies  the  tree.  He  sees  that  its  shape 
is  conical,  that  the  water  runs  off  from  leaf  to  leaf,  keeping 
him  quite  dry,  and  he  notices  also  that  the  whole^  is  sup- 
ported by  a  pole  called  the  trunk  running  straight  from 
the  ground  to  the  apex.  Therefore,  he  goes  to  the  spot 
where  he  thinks  he  would  like  to  live  and  builds  for  himself 
a  hut  or  tent.  Does  he  want  to  build  a  bridge  over  the 
large  stream  which  runs  before  his  new  home?  Naturally. 
He  has  noticed  that  Nature  bridges  that  stream  every 
winter  and  that  the  bridge  is  strong  enough  to  bear  his 
own  weight  and  that  of  his  burden  also.  He  watches  the 
process.  He  sees  that  she  begins  to  build  not  in  the  mid- 
dle, but  at  either  shore,  and  that  she  braces  the  shore  con- 
struction by  dovetailing  ledges  of  ice  down  the  banks. 
Moreover,  he  notices  that  the  bridge,  when  it  is  finally 
done,  and  the  middle  portion  is  secure,  is  arched.  He  does 
not  know  just  why  as  yet,  but  he  goes  to  work  and  builds 
his  bridge  in  accordance  with  Nature's  ploM,  and  behold! 
one  day  the  huge  spans  across  the  East  River  are  the  result 
of  his  observation  and  his  planning.     So  carefully  has  he 


PLANNING  3 

learned  to  plan  that  before  a  single  particle  of  dirt  is  turned 
for  the  most  wonderful  bridge  in  the  world,  every  bolt, 
every  wire,  every  item,  however  minute  it  may  be,  of  that 
immense  structure  is  accounted  for  in  the  plan  he  has  drawn 
up  on  paper.  If  this  were  not  done  the  bridge  would  of 
course  refuse  to  serve  his  purpose.  Structures  that  are 
put  together  haphazardly  endure  but  for  a  very  short  time 
indeed,  and  they  are  always  unsatisfactory  and  inefficient 
while  they  do  endure.  Thus,  architects  and  engineers  are 
made  necessary.  They  are  Nature's  great  children.  They 
construct  on  paper  so  that  others,  or  they  themselves,  may 
construct  enduringly  in  stone  and  iron. 

When  we  take  up  a  book  we  very  naturally  turn  to  that 
part  of  it  called  "Table  of  Contents".  Why?  Because  from 
the  outline  or  plan  of  the  book  we  find  there,  we  shall  be 
able  to  tell  what  the  book  is  about.  When  we  go  to  the 
theater  we  are  eager  for  a  program,  because  it  outlines  or 
"skeletonizes"  the  play  for  us,  and  makes  us  better  able 
to  understand  what  is  going  to  be  presented.  Are  we 
going  to  take  a  journey?  Well,  then,  we  must  "plan  it 
out".  The  time  of  departure,  the  place,  the  change  of  cars,  and 
all  the  rest  of  it  must  be  planned,  or  we  shall  have  no  end 
of  trouble  before  we  reach  our  desired  destination.  Have 
we  but  a  few  minutes  to  glance  through  the  newspaper 
this  morning?  We  should  not  have  overslept,  but  the 
editor  has  been  very  kind  to  us, — he  has  outlined  or  "head- 
lined" every  article  of  importance.  By  glancing  at  this 
condensation  of  each  important  world  happening  we  can 
get  a  fair  idea  of  its  main  content.  Such  examples  as 
these,  as  we  very  well  know,  might  be  multiplied  ad  inHni- 
turn.  If  we  will  stop  to  think  for  a  moment  we  will  recall 
many  other  things  that  bear  evidence  of  careful  planning 
in  our  routine  of  this  very  day. 


4  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

Perhaps  we  have  all  at  some  time  seen  a  desk  in  the  of- 
fice of  a  man  who  had  no  sense  of  order,  and  who  made  no 
efifort  to  cultivate  it.  If  so,  we  have  doubtless  wondered 
how  he  managed  to  find  anything  at  the  time  he  happened 
to  want  it.  We  have  in  mind  such  a  one.  The  pigeon-holes 
are  all  stuffed  full  of  papers;  the  top  of  the  desk  is  piled 
a  foot  high  in  some  places  with  letters,  diagrams,  envelopes, 
pens,  pencils,  paper-weights  (holding  down  books  while 
manuscript  is  blown  to  the  floor),  etc.,  in  a  luxury  of  con- 
fusion. The  owner  of  this  dissipated  desk  is  a  lawyer, 
somewhat  notable  perhaps  for  his  legal  ability,  but  certainly 
notorious  because  of  his  display  of  temper  whenever  a  client 
comes  in  and  asks  to  be  shown  the  papers  bearing  upon  his 
case.  Then  there  is  a  general  shuffle  in  which  all  the  clerks 
of  the  office  are  obliged  to  take  part  until  the  special  docu- 
ment is  found.  But  the  order  of  the  desk  is  worse  if  possi- 
ble than  it  was  before  the  search  began.  Such  a  spectacle  as 
this  was  a  common  one  in  the  time  of  our  grandfathers, 
and  even  to-day  there  are  numberless  men  who  seemingly 
do  not  know  the  alphabet,  for  their  letters  are  not  ar- 
ranged in  alphabetical  or  any  other  order. 

But  the  majority  of  offices  in  our  time  are  well  ordered. 
We  see  letter  files  and  filing  cabinets  on  every  hand.  If  we 
go  into  a  broker's  office  and  make  inquiry  about  some  par- 
ticular bonds  or  stocks,  the  manager  opens  a  drawer,  places 
his  finger  on  a  section  of  cards  under  a  certain  letter  of 
the  alphabet,  and  at  once  takes  out  a  smaller  card  with 
the  information  upon  it.  Or  if  we  go  into  the  library  to 
borrow  a  certain  book  we  are  referred  to  the  card  catalogue 
and  there  we  find  the  whole  library  in  a  nutshell,  as  it  were. 
We  find  a  section  of  cards  labeled  'Tiction''  (if  we  happen 
to  be  looking  for  a  novel )  ;  we  find  under  this  general  card 
an  alphabetical  arrangement  of  books  of  fiction;  we  run 


PLANNING  5 

them  over  until  we  find  the  book  we  want.  It  has  a  shelf 
number  and  a  volume  number,  both  of  which  we  note. 
Then  we  are  able  to  put  our  hands  upon  the  book.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  insist  upon  the  immense  importance  of 
this  library  plan  or  arrangement.  We  understand  at  once 
how  valuable  a  thing  it  is,  the  more  so  if  the  library  is  a 
large  one  containing  half  a  million  books  or  more.  Again, 
and  nearer  home  to  us,  a  boy's  mother  may  come  to  school 
some  day  at  eleven  o'clock  to  take  him  somewhere.  When 
she  makes  inquiry  for  him  at  the  office,  do  they  tell  her 
that  he  cannot  be  found?  Does  the  principal  of  our  school 
of,  say,  two  thousand  pupils  make  a  canvass  of  all  the  class- 
rooms asking  for  him  ?  Not  at  all !  We  know  what  hap- 
pens. The  school  is  all  outlined,  planned,  ordered,  or- 
ganized in  those  little  drawers  in  the  office  cabinet,  and  any 
pupil  in  this  big  school  can  be  found  at  a  moment's  notice. 
The  key  to  the  whole  situation,  to  any  situation,  however 
big  it  may  be,  is  in  the  arrangement  or  plan  of  that  situa- 
tion. It  matters  not  what  we  call  it — plan,  outline,  order, 
arrangement,  skeleton,  synopsis,  catalogue,  or  what  not — 
the  thing  is  indispensable  in  whatever  kind  of  work  one 
has  to  do. 

We  cannot  urge  too  strongly  therefore  the  importance 
of  carefully  planning  any  piece  of  work  with  which  one 
may  be  confronted  at  any  given  time.  Most  of  all  would 
we  insist  upon  the  value  of  it  in  composition  work.  This 
is  more  important  to-day,  perhaps,  than  it  ever  has  been 
before,  for  the  reason  that  we  are  living  in  such  a  complex 
age.  There  is  infinite  complexity  in  our  world  and  there 
must  therefore  be  infinite  organization  in  order  to  master 
affairs,  to  prevent  affairs  from  mastering  us  with  their 
confusion.  It  is  sometimes  hard  for  the  young  mind  to 
understand  the   system   in  all  things   around   it,    and   the 


6  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

mind  is  accordingly  allowed  to  run  wild.  "Rattle-brained- 
ness''  is  the  common  accusation  made  against  our  youth 
because  he  thinks  that  everything  about  him  is  *'rattle- 
brained''  and  topsy-turvy.  But  this  is  a  huge  mistake.  He 
is  failing  to  see  that  everything  is  operating  in  an  orderly 
fashion  and  that  he  himself  is  one  of  the  most  systematic 
creatures  on  earth  when  he  gives  Nature  a  chance  to  have 
her  way  with  him.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this  book  to  help 
to  form  habits  of  ordering  oral  and  written  work,  to  help 
to  avoid  ^'hap-hazardness",  to  tell  how  to  prepare  to  deliver 
speeches  and  write  compositions,  to  teach  how  to  think 
systematically  and  connectedly. 

Of  course,  when  our  teacher  assigns  us  a  composition 
for  the  next  recitation,  we  would  much  rather  sit  down 
and  "dash  it  off".  But  we  must  bear  in  mind  that,  if  we 
would  some  day  "dash  things  off"  with  our  pens,  we  must 
now  be  willing  to  go  through  the  drilling  without  which 
we  can  never  hope  to  write  with  any  fluency.  We  can 
argue  eloquently  (we  have  done  so  many  times)  that 
Charles  Dickens  and  Robert  Louis  Stevenson  and  their 
great  literary  compeers  never  made  outlines  or  plans  be- 
fore writing  their  immortal  stories.  Perhaps  not;  but  we 
may  rest  assured  that  they  went  through  endless  toil  by 
way  of  organizing  material  for  composition  in  their  youth. 

We  must  not  think  for  a  moment  that  any  one  of  them 
sat  down  to  write  a  story  without  having  it  under  perfect 
mastery  in  his  mind  before  doing  so.  We  must  not  imag- 
ine that  these  men  had  not  formed  the  habit  of  systematiz- 
ing their  knowledge  before  they  were  ever  able  to  write  their 
masterpieces.  We  have,  of  course,  heard  a  great  pianist 
play  the  piano  with  such  consummate  skill  and  ease  that 
we  forgot  all  about  the  fact  that  years  ago  this  same  great 
person  who  now  enraptures  our  souls  had  to  sweat  blood  to 


PLANNING  7 

master  the  finger  exercises  which  we  so  easily  give  up. 
Every  great  artist  must  go  through  this  mill  at  an  awful 
cost  of  work  and  worry.  But  once  a  finished  artist  he  can 
throw  ofif  the  shackles  of  rule  and  rote  and  do  the  rudi- 
mentary things  in  his  own  way,  because  he  has  been  so 
trained  at  the  beginning  that  his  own  way  will  be  a  good 
way.  A  noted  organist  once  said  that  when  he  was  a  boy 
he  fingered  according  to  the  directions  on  a  piece  of  music, 
but  later  he  fingered  to  suit  himself.  He  is  now  writing 
music  and  inserting  directions  about  fingering  which  learn- 
ers must  observe  if  they  would  accomplish  anything.  It 
is  trite  to  say  in  this  connection  that  genius  is  nothing  more 
or  less  than  the  ability  to  work  very  hard.  We  hear  a 
great  deal,  to  be  sure,  about  the  ^'fliash  of  genius'',  but  we 
shall  stand  upon  much  safer  ground  if  we  take  Mr.  Thomas 
A.  Edison's  definition,  "Genius  is  98  per  cent,  perspiration 
and  2  per  cent,  inspiration",  and  abide  by  it.  And,  lest  we 
misunderstand,  let  it  be  added  that  we  are  not  expecting 
that  we  are  going  to  be  such  artists  or  geniuses  as  those 
mentioned  above ;  we  are  just  insisting  that  we  aim  at  noth- 
ing short  of  perfection  in  our  composition  work  and  that 
we  employ  methods  most  likely  to  help  us  realize  our  aim, 
at  least  in  part. 


CHAPTER    II 
THE  RUNNING  PLAN 

Let  us  investigate  what  "our  habits  are  when  we  are 
asked  to  explain  or  narrate  any  of  the  simple  things  per- 
taining to  our  daily  experience.  Most  of  us  have  taken  or 
planned  trips  of  one  sort,  or  another,  however  short  they 
may  have  been.  By  way  of  example,  then,  we  will  imagine 
that  we  are  going  to  travel  from  Boston  to  San  Francisco. 
Our  route  might  be  planned  as  follows : — 

•  Boston — Chicago — Denver — San  Francisco. 

This  would  be  a  regular  and  consistent  arrangement  of 
the  trip.  It  would  be  absurd  of  course  to  plan  our  journey 
between  these  two  points  in  this  manner : — 

Chicago — Boston — Denver — San  Francisco. 

and  none  of  us  would  think  of  making  such  a  plan.  In- 
deed, the  ticket  purchased  at  the  railroad  office  would  settle 
the  matter  for  us  by  outlining  the  route  in  the  most  orderly 
way.  And  if  we  were  asked  to  tell  about  our  trip  after 
our  return,  it  would  be  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world 
for  us  to  give  our  account  of  it  in  accordance  with  this 
plan.  What  should  please  us  more,  it  would  be  the  easiest 
possible  method  of  telling  or  writing  about  it.  It  seems 
so  obvious  to  us,  that  it  appears  almost  foolish  even  to 
suggest  the  wisdom  of  following  the  order  of  travel;  yet 

8 


THE    RUNNING    PLAN  9 

we  have  known  people  who,  in  reviewing  a  trip  they  have 
taken,  constantly  jumped  about  from  place  to  place  without 
the  slightest  regard  for  their  listeners.  How  much  easier 
it  would  have  been  to  follow  them  and  how  much  easier 
it  would  have  been  for  them,  if  they  had  adjusted  their 
account  to  the  orderly  progress  of  their  journeying. 

Now,  suppose  that  we  had  made  certain  stops  between 
Boston  and  San  Francisco  other  than  those  mentioned 
above,  and  suppose  we  were  desirous  of  making  mention 
of  these  in  our  subsequent  account  of  the  trip.  We  might 
very  properly  designate  them  in  this  way : — 

Boston — Albany-Buffalo — Chicago — St.  Louis-Kansas  City — 
Denver — Salt  Lake  City — San  Francisco. 

Here  we  have  not  only  the  regular  and  natural  order  of 
the  route,  but  we  have  also  signified  the  relative  importance 
of  the  places  by  the  use  of  smaller  type  for  those  that  are 
minor  as  compared  with  the  four  great  landmarks  of  our 
course. 

Again,  if  we  were  asked  to  give  an  account  of  the  food 
we  ate  yesterday,  we  would  naturally  be  guided  in  the  first 
place  by  the  order  of  our  meals : — 

Breakfast — Dinner — Supper. 

and,  with  this  orderly  division  of  our  subject  before  us, 
we  would  proceed  to  tell  what  we  ate.  Or  if,  as  is  often 
the  case,  we  had  eaten  ''between  meals'',  we  would  prob- 
ably indicate  the  ''extras"  as  follows: — 

Breakfast — 10  o'clock  Lunch — Dinner — 4  o'clock  Tea — Sup- 
per. 

This,  being  the  order  in  time  in  which  these  interesting 
events  occurred,  would  be  the  natural  order  for  us  to  ob- 


10  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

serve  in  telling  about  them.  We  call  this  orderly  time- 
arrangement  of  subject-matter  the  chronological  order,  or 
SEQUENCE.  If  we  had  placed  our  lo  o'clock  luncheon  be- 
fore breakfast,  our  plan  would  not  have  been  chronological 
and  sequential.  Moreover,  it  is  quite  likely  that  we  should 
have  considerably  more  to  say  about  dinner  than  about 
the  other  meals  mentioned,  if  yesterday  was  a  normally 
healthful  day  with  us.  This  fact  should  of  course  be  made 
evident  in  our  table  of  contents  or  in  our  plan.  For  the 
present  we  can  best  indicate  this  by  leaving  spaces  after 
the  topics  proportionate  to  their  importance ;  thus : — 

Breakfast lo  o'clock  Lunch — Dinner 4  o'clock 

Tea — Supper . 

We  have  shown  by  this,  then,  our  second  principle  in  plan- 
ning: namely,  proportion.  Dinner  leads  in  importance 
and  therefore  has  the  largest  space  left  after  it;  breakfast 
and  supper  follow;  and  our  luncheon  and  tea  follow  these. 
The  relations  may  be  better  seen  in  the  diagram, — 

IB I  \L i  ID [  IT \  \S I 

These  two  principles — sequence  and  proportion — are 
two  of  the  most  important  in  our  work  of  composition 
building,  and  we  shall  have  frequent  occasion  to  refer  to 
them  hereafter. 

Let  us  now  complete  our  plan  by  placing  after  each 
topic  already  named  the  specific  things  that  we  ate.  In 
order  to  indicate  that  these  are  minor  or  subordinate  to 
the  five  main  or  major  topics,  we  will  write  them  in 
smaller  type,  as  we  did  the  smaller  cities  in  our  first  plan : — 

Breakfast  —  Cereal-Eggs-Bacon — Luncheon — Sandwiches — 
Dinner  —  Soup-Meat-Potatoes-Corn-Beans-Pudding  —  Tea  — 
Bread-Jam — Supper — Salad-Milk-Cake. 


THE   RUNNING    PLAN  ii 

We  have  here  been  careful  to  observe  the  law  of  sequence 
and  the  law  of  proportion.  We  have  also  illustrated  fully 
in  this  little  plan  a  third  law  or  principle,  namely,  subordi- 
nation; that  is,  the  writing  of  the  less  important  topics 
in  an  outline  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave  no  doubt  that  they 
are  lesser  than  those  to  which  they  properly  belong.  In 
this  as  in  our  former  plan  we  have  indicated  these  simply 
by  the  use  of  smaller  type.  Later  we  shall  see  that  they 
can  be  further  set  apart  by  placing  them  in  a  different 
position   from  the  major   topics. 

If  we  are  unable  to  designate  this  subordination  by 
means  of  a  changed  handwriting,  we  may  do  so  by  means 
of  capitalizing  the  major  topics  and  writing  the  minor 
topics  without  capitals.  The  second  point  in  the  outline 
below,  taken  from  Washington  Irving's  Life  of  Oliver 
Goldsmith,  illustrates  this  method,  as  do  also  points  two 
and  three  under  Prelude  II  of  James  Russell  Lowell's  The 
Vision  of  Sir  Laimfal,  on  page  12. 

Such  a  plan  as  we  have  thus  far  been  discussing  is 
called  a  running  plan  or  outline,  because  the  topics  of 
which  it  is  composed  run  one  directly  after  the  other.  We 
have  frequently  seen  such  a  plan  in  the  tables  of  contents 
at  the  beginning  of  books,  or  at  the  openings  of  chapters. 
It  sums  up  in  a  general  way  all  that  the  chapter  contains. 
It  gives  the  substance  of  the  chapter  in  a  nutshell.  Many 
authors  find  this  kind  of  plan  a  most  helpful  one,  both  for 
themselves  and  for  their  readers.  Every  chapter  in  Wash- 
ington Irving's  Life  of  Oliver  Goldsmith  (to  give  but  a 
single  instance)  is  prefaced  with  such  a  plan.  The  run- 
ning plan  for  Chapter  X  of  that  book  reads  as  follows : — 

Oriental  appointment — and  disappointment — Examination  at  the 
College  of  Surgeons — How  to  procure  a  suit  of  clothes — Fresh  dis- 
appointment— A  tale  of  distress — The  suit  of  clothes  in  pawn — 


12  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

Punishment  for  doing  an  act  of.  charity — Gaieties  of  Green  Arbor 
Court — Letter  to  his  brother — Life  of  Voltaire — Scroggins,  an  at- 
tempt at  mock-heroic  poetry. 

The  RUNNING  PLAN  is  in  addition  an  excellent  vehicle 
for  summarizing  and  fixing  our  reading  and  study.  It  is 
the  simplest  and  most  adaptable  plan  we  know.  It  accom- 
modates itself  with  equal  readiness  to  a  whole  work  or  to 
a  small  portion  of  that  work.  Matthew  Arnold's  Sohrab 
and  Rustum,  for  instance,  may  be  condensed  to  the  follow- 
ing plan,  and  though  it  is  a  condensation  it  is  none  the 
less  complete: — 

The  Camp  on  the  Oxus — Sohrab  and  Peran-Wisa — The 
Truce — Rustum's  Perversity  and  Pride — The  Fight — Sohrab's 
Defeat — Ruksh — The  Revelation — Rustum's  Grief — The  Oxus. 

Or  take  again  James  Russell  Lowell's  The  Vision  of  Sir 
Launfal: — 

Prelude  I — The  Organist — Infancy — Manhood — "World  Val- 
ues''— June — 

Part  I — The  Sleep — The  Young  Knight's  Start — The  Leper — 
Prelude  II — Winter — outside-inside — Return  of  the  Knight — 
Part   II — The   Desolation — Sir   Launfal   and  the   Leper — The 
Transformation — The  Awakening. 

Now  expanding  Part  I  of  The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal  into 
an  independent  running  plan^  we  get : — 

Sir  Launfal's  Command — The  Sleep — The  Castle — The  Start — 
The  Contrast — The  Leper — The  Coin — The  Sermon. 

In  like  manner  we  can  expand  any  one  of  these  topics  into 
a  separate  running  plan^  just  as  we  can  reduce  a  whole 
novel  to  a  few  cardinal  points  or  main  events.  So  elastic 
is  our  plan  that  it  fails  us  never,  no  matter  how  huge  the 


THE    RUNNING    PLAN  13 

work  we  wish  to  plan.  And  it  need  not  be  added  that  the 
acquisition  of  the  abihty  to  do  these  things  and  the  forma- 
tion of  habits  to  such  an  end  are  an  invaluable  aid  in  all 
our  reading,  writing,  and  study. 

But  instead  of  arranging  our  topics  end  to  end  or  hori- 
zontally, as  we  have  been  doing,  we  may  arrange  them*  one 
above  the  other,  perpendicularly,  and  thus  show  exactly 
the  same  sequence  and  proportion  and  subordination 
in  our  material  as  we  have  been  able  to  show  in  our  run- 
ning PLANS.  We  will  call  this  new  arrangement  the 
GRAPHIC  or  PICTURE  PLAN  or  OUTLINE,  and  we  will  notice 
very  carefully  how  the  three  principles  just  named  are 
clearly  brought  out  by  the  numbering,  the  spacing,  and 
the  position  of  topics : — 

THE    FOOD    I    ATE   YESTERDAY 
I. — Breakfast 

1.  Cereal 

2.  Eggs 

3.  Bacon 

II. — 10  o'clock  Luncheon 
I.  Sandwiches 
III. — Dinner 

1.  Soup 

2.  Meat 

3.  Potatoes 

4.  Corn 

5.  Beans 

6.  Pudding 
IV. — 4  o'clock  Tea 

1.  Bread 

2.  Jam 
V. — Supper 

1.  Salad 

2.  Milk 

3.  Cake 


14 


COMPOSITION    PLANNING 


This  form  of  outline  has  a  distinct  advantage  over  the 
RUNNING  PLAN  in  that  its  various  parts  and  inter-relations 
can  be  understood  at  a  moment's  glance.  The  propor- 
tion^ the  subordination,  the  sequence  all  stand  out 
clearly.  It  forms  a  more  distinct  picture  than  the  other 
type  of  outline.  Here  again  wt  may  indicate  the  propor- 
tion by  means  of  lines,  as  we  did  in  the  other  case,— 


B 


L 
D 


The  major  topics,  v^e  see,  are  indicated  by  Roman  nu- 
merals,— I,  II,  III,  IV,  V,  etc.  The  minor  or  subordinate 
topics  are  placed  under  and  slightly  to  the  right  of  the 
major  topics  to  which  they  respectively  belong,  and  are 
indicated  by  Arabic  numerals.  We  are  thereby  enabled 
to  make  easy  reference  to  any  point,  in  the  following  brief 
manner : — 

IV-i — Bread;  III-4 — Corn;  etc. 

The  plans  arranged  in  this  chapter,  then,  are  suffi- 
ciently complete  for  our  present  purposes.  Our  next  prob- 
lem is  to  write  the  composition  or  deliver  the  speech,  keep- 


THE    RUNNING    PLAN  '  15 

ing  the  plan  always  before  us  so  that  we  shall  not  wander 
from  the  sequential  and  proportionate  development.  These 
two  principles — sequence  and  proportion — must  be  kept 
constantly  in  mind  in  our  writing  or  speaking,  as  well  as 
in  our  planning,  for  the  tendency  to  wander  into  the  by- 
ways of  the  subject  will  be  insistently  present  with  us 
unless  we  are  on  our  guard.  There  will  be  no  danger, 
however,  if  we  follow  closely,  point  by  point,  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  subject  here  drawn  up;  for  it  is  plainly  notice- 
able that  care  has  been  taken  to  avoid  including  anything 
in  the  plan  that  does  not  properly  belong  to  the  matter 
under  discussion.  Not  a  topic  has  been  set  down  that 
does  not  pertain  directly  to  the  subject.  We  call  this  strict 
observance  of  the  close  relationship  between  title  and  topic 
adherence;  that  is,  we  adhere  to  our  subject  in  our  com- 
position, be  it  oral  or  written.  For  the  present  we  will 
divide  our  composition  into  as  many  paragraphs  as  we 
have  main  topics  in  our  plan,  and  we  will  devote  a  sentence 
or  two  to  each  subordinate  topic.  Of  course  this  is  a  very 
general  direction  and  we  shall  have  to  exercise  our  judg- 
ment in  taking  liberties  with  it.  It  is  quite  likely  that  we 
can  combine  two  or  three  subordinate  topics  into  one  sen- 
tence, or  two  main  topics  into  one  paragraph.  But  for 
the  present  writing  or  speaking,  let  us  follow  as  closely  as 
we  can  the  sentence  and  paragraph  arrangement  here  sug- 
gested. 

We  are  all  perfectly  aware  that  such  plans  as  those 
we  have  been  discussing  are  the  salvation  of  many  a  public 
speaker  in  the  course  of  his  speech-making.  Preachers 
often  take  into  the  pulpit  with  them  nothing  but  a  "skele- 
ton" of  their  sermons,  very  similar  to,  though  of  course 
more  elaborate  and  intricate  than,  the  ones  we  have  used 
for  our  illustrations.     Political  speakers,  lawyers,  men  in 


i6  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

any  walk  of  life  when  called  upon  to  deliver  an  address, 
invariably  have  in  their  hands  or  in  their  minds  a  plan  of 
the  things  they  want  to  say  which  holds  them  strictly  to 
a  well-ordered  expression  of  their  thoughts;  that  is,  of 
course,  unless  they  read  their  addresses  verbatim,  in  which 
case  they  have  followed  their  plans  while  writing.  If 
therefore  we  form  the  habit  of  doing  this  preliminary  work 
well  now,  we  shall  save  ourselves  much  time  and  many 
failures  in  connection  with  our  future  work,  no  matter  in 
what  direction  that  work  happens  to  fall. 

Opportunity  is  here  given  to  apply  the  knowledge  we 
have  gained  in  this  chapter  in  solving  the  following  prob- 
lems. We  must  keep  constantly  in  mind  the  meaning  of 
such   terms    as   sequence,    proportion,    subordination, 

ADHERENCE,  RUNNING  PLAN,  GRAPHIC  PLAN,  ROMAN  and 
ARABIC    NUMERALS. 

EXERCISE 

I.  In  a  running  plan  name  the  half  dozen  different 
foods  you  have  eaten  to-day,  subordinating  the  names  of 
the  places  from  which  they  came. 

II.  In  a  running  plan  name  the  different  members  of 
your  family,  giving  subordinately  the  main  characteristics 
of  each. 

III.  By  means  of  a  running  plan  indicate  your  daily 
journey  to  or  from  school. 

IV.  Name  in  a  running  plan  all  the  subjects  you 
study,  placing  subordinate  to  each  the  name  of  the  teacher. 

V.  State  in  a  running  outline  the  important  points 
to  be  remembered  in  this  chapter.  Briefly  define  each  sub- 
ordinately. 

VI.     Convert  any  three  of  the  above  plans   (called 
for  under  I,  II,  III,  IV,  V)  into  graphic  plans. 


THE   RUNNING   PLAN  17 

VII.  By  means  of  a  graphic  plan  give  the  names  of 
four  or  five  authors  with  whose  works  you  are  famiHar, 
and  give  under  each  the  names  of  the  works  you  have 
read. 

VIII.     Write  either  a  running  or  a  graphic  outline  of 
some  short  poem  you  have  read. 

IX.  Outline  either  by  graphic  or  by  running  plan  the 
chief  happenings  of  the  past  week  as  you  have  learned  them 
from  the  newspapers.  Explain  each  topic  briefly  by  means 
of  subordinate  topics. 

X.  Convert  the  running  plans  of  The  Vision  of  Sir 
Launfal  and  Sohrab  and  Rushtm  given  in  this  chapter  into 
graphic  plans.     Make  them  more   detailed, if  possible. 

XL  Develop  further  the  following  plans  and  then 
convert  them  into  the  graphic  form : — 

Spring — Summer — Autumn — Winter. 

Ball— Bases— Bat— Field. 

City  School — Country   School. 

Tramp — Laborer — Middleman — Aristocrat. 

Books — Papers — Magazines. 

XII.  Study  the  following  outline  and  rearrange  it  so 
that  it  will  observe  the  principles  laid  down  in  this  chap- 
ter :— 

air,  sea,  climbing,  benefit,  bathing,  coaching,  sand,  people, 
snakes,  grass,  strolls,  pastimes,  mountains,  trout,  falls,  fish- 
ing, trees,  salt,  health,  height. 


CHAPTER    III 

THE  INFORMAL  PLAN 

In  the  previous  chapter  we  have  of  course  dealt  with 
the  simplest  possible  kinds  of  subjects.  But  these  homely 
illustrations  have,  we  hope,  been  of  some  benefit.  We 
ought  to  have  learned  that,  instead  of  thinking  about  our 
menu  of  yesterday  in  a  jumbled,  disconnected  fashion,  it  is 
vastly  better  to  order  and  systematize  our  thinking,  par- 
ticularly if  we  want  to  give  expression  of  it  to  some  one 
else.  Instead  of  replying  in  this  fashion  to  a  question 
about  our  food  : — 

Bread,  tea,  breakfast,  fire,  corn  pudding,  beans,  lo  o'clock, 
salad,  meat,  jam,  cake,  dinner,  cereal,  flowers,  supper,  4  o'clock, 
eggs,  lunch,  bacon,  soup,  potatoes,  milk,  sandwiches, 

we  bethought  ourselves  and,  for  the  information  of  others, 
organized  our  knowledge  of  what  we  ate.  On  consider- 
ing the  many  things  that  came  into  our  minds  when  the 
question  was  asked,  we  found  that  some  of  them  (break- 
fast, luncheon,  dinner,  tea,  supper)  stood  out  prominently 
and  fell  into  a  natural  order;  we  found  that  under  each 
one  of  these  could  be  grouped  certain  foods  belonging  to 
each;  and  we  also  found  that,  though  there  were  flowers 
on  the  table  and  a  fire  in  the  dining-room  grate  while  we 
were  eating,  the  flowers  and  the  fire  were  really  not  eaten 
by  us,  and  that  consequently  they  did  not  adhere  to  our 
title.     We  therefore  discarded  them  altogether  from  our 

18 


THE  vINFORMAL   PLAN  19 

outline.     In  fine,  the  process  of  building  up  our  plan  was 
something  like  this : — 

1.  We  summoned  our  knowledge  of  the  subject. 

2.  We  selected  important  or  major  points. 

3.  We  arranged  them  in  order. 

4.  We  selected  and  arranged  material  under  these. 

5.  We  rejected  points  that  had  no  bearing  on  the  title. 

Let  us  now  see  how  we  should  proceed  under  slightly 
more  difficult  circumstances.  Suppose  our  parents  wish  us 
to  tell  them  by  way  of  a  composition  all  about  the  literary 
club  of  which  we  are  members.  We  are  anxious  to  do  our 
best  as  usual  and  accordingly  outline  our  work  carefully 
before  beginning  to  write  the  composition.  But  before  be- 
ginning even  the  plan  we  must  consider  the  subject  fully 
in  our  minds,  thinking  over  each  and  every  phase  of  our 
club  work,  in  order  that  nothing  of  importance  be  omitted, 
in  order  that  nothing  that  has  no  direct  bearing  on  the 
club  be  included.  Our  problem  in  such  a  circumstance  as 
we  are  supposing  is  always  this, —  How  can  we  render  this 
matter  so  clear  as  to  make  questions  for  further  informa-* 
tion  unnecessary  when  we  are  done?  How  can  we  obvi- 
ate the  inclusion  of  material  that  is  not  necessary  to  a 
proper  and  full  understanding  of  the  constitution  and  work- 
ings of  our  club?  These  are  serious  questions  and  they 
must  be  seriously  considered  by  every  one  who  would  write 
a  worthy  composition  on  whatever  subject  he  has  in  hand. 
It  is  the  effective  and  consummate  solution  of  such  ques- 
tions as  these  that  makes  the  writing  of  a  composition  an 
art  as  well  as  a  science. 

We  will  imagine  that  all  the  conceivable  points  to  be 
made  about  our  club  are  written  on  separate  slips  of  paper, 
and  that  these  are  thrown  into  some  receptacle,  a  basket 
let  us  say,   without   any   attempt   whatsoever  at  arrange- 


20 


COMPOSITION    PLANNING 


ment.  Then  let  us  imagine  ourselves  taking  them  out  of 
the  basket,  one  at  a  time,  just  as  they  occur,  and  placing 
them  on  our  study  table  in  the  order  in  which  we  pick  them 
out.     Something  like  this  would  probably  result : — 


minutes 

business 

purposes 

extemporaneous 

president 

critic 

officers 

adjournment 

debate 

tricky  Jim 

laughable 

journal 

special 

oration 

membership 

speeches 

number 

training 

age 

benefits 

social 

a  typical  meeting 

recitation 

fooHsh 

prizes 

expenses 

director 

cat 

secretary- 

athletics 

aims 

attention 

disorder 

intellectual 

roll-call 

picture 

initiation 

Dictures 

order 

meets  in  school 

name 

light 

noise 

building 

valuable 

play 

visitors 

once  a  week 

upset 

dark 

vice-president 

excited 

public  meetings 

Here  we  have  about  fifty  slips  df  paper,  some  having 
upon  them  single  words;  some,  phrases;  some,  adjectives; 
some,  whole  sentences;  and  they  are  placed  totally  without 
any  order  or  system  whatever.  Our  problem  is  to-  bring 
order  out  of  this  chaos.  We  have  tried  to  be  exhaustive 
in  our  list,  omitting  nothing  that  has  a  bearing  upon  our 
club  and  its  workings.  So  eager  have  we  been  about 
this  that  we  have  included  points  that  can  have  no  bearing 
at  all  upon  a  general  account  of  our  club,  such  as  we  are 
asked  to  write,  but  that  refer  evidently  to  special  meetings 
or  unusual  circumstances.  These  terms,  with  all  that  they 
suggest,  if  retained,  would  probably  confuse  our  parents, 
no  matter  how  interesting  or  how  humorous  might  be  the 
accounts  of  the  incidents  with  which  they  are  connected. 
^Tricky  Jim",  for  instance,  and  ''laughable'',  together  with 
"foolish",  "cat",  "excited",  "noise",  "disorder",  "dark", 
"upset",  are  certainly  not  regularly  associated  with  our 
meetings.  They  refer  to  certain  abnormal  occurrences  or 
conditions  which  came  into  our  minds  when  we  were  con- 


THE    INFORMAL    PLAN  21 

templating  past  meetings  with  some  of  their  uproarious  or 
exasperating  happenings.  However  interesting  these  refer- 
ences may  be  to  us,  we  may  be  pretty  sure  that  our  parents 
would  find  more  to  condemn  than  to  commend  in  hearing 
about  them.  They  have  presumably  never  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  the  club  at  work,  and  we  must  therefore  re- 
member that  they  want  an  explicit  account  of  its  workings 
under  usual  conditions.  Our  list  of  topics  includes  also  the 
word  ^'athletic'',  but  this  can  have  no  place  in  our  composi- 
tion for  our  club  is  a  literary  club.  Similarly,  "picture'' 
and  '*light''  surely  form  no  part  of  our  club,  though  they 
may  be  important  accessories  in  our  club  room.  Our  club 
ROOM^  however,  is  not  our  subject  at  the  present  time,  so 
we  must  reject  the  two  topics,  "picture"  and  "light'',  along 
with  the  others. 

Having  rejected  these  irrelevant  topics,  we  have  thereby 
selected  (for  one  of  these  words  always  implies  the  other) 
those  topics  which  we  must  retain  for  our  outline.  Let  us 
turn  our  attention  now  to  arranging  these  in  some  sort 
of  rational  way.  We  are  first  of  all  impressed  with  the 
fact  that  some  of  the  topics  in  the  list  are  more  important 
than  others.  To  point  out  but  a  few  of  these,  we  can 
see  at  a  glance  that  the  word  "officers"  includes  the  words 
"president",  "secretary",  and  the  various  other  names  of 
specific  officers  given  in  the  list.  We  call  such  a  word  a 
GENERIC  word  because  it  is  general  in  its  scope  and  mean- 
ing and  is  inclusive  in  its  application.  The  words  which  it 
includes  are  called  specific  words  because  they  refer  to 
special,  definite  things.  If  we  look  through  the  list  again  we 
shall  see  that  there  are  other  specific  words ;  whereas  "pur- 
poses", "membership",  "benefits",  are  all  words  that  seem  to 
stand  out  as  having  a  larger  meaning  than  their  lesser  asso- 
ciates.   Now,  in  arranging  our  material  for  composition  we 


22  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

should  make  it  a  point  to  select  the  generic  terms  from  our 
stock  of  information,  and  then  to  select  the  appropriate 
specific  topics  for  each  of  these.  Of  course  this  may  some- 
times involve  us  in  small  difficulties.  We  may  be  unable 
always  to  find  a  way  to  do  this.  Some  words  may  be  spe- 
cific in  one  sense  and  generic  in  another ;  for  instance,  the 
word  "house''  may  be  generic,  in  which  case  we  can  group 
under  it  such  words  as  ''cottage'',  ''mansion",  "bungalow", 
"castle",  etc.;  but  it  may  also  become  a  specific  word 
if  used  in  connection  with  the  word  "building".  In  like 
manner  if  the  word  "officers"  be  used  with  "army"  it  be- 
comes a  specific  word,  instead  of  being  generic,  as  in  our 
list. 

There  is  still  something  else  that  becomes  apparent  to 
us  if  we  study  these  topics  a  little  further;  namely,  that 
some  of  the  words  by  their  very  nature  settle  the  matter  of 
sequence  for  us.  We  know  well  enough  that  "roll-call" 
should  precede  "adjournment";  that  "president"  should 
precede  "treasurer" ;  that  it  is  a  little  more  natural  per- 
haps to  talk  about  the  organization  of  our  club — its  pur- 
poses, its  membership,  and  its  officers — before  we  give  an 
account  of  a  typical  meeting.  Such  considerations  as  these 
must  therefore  be  borne  in  mind  by  us  when  we  come  to 
drawing  up  our  plan. 

We  have  subjected  the  list  to  rather  a  close  scrutiny 
by  this  time.     Let  us  summarize  our  discoveries  briefly : — 

1.  We  have  discovered  a  number  of  irrelevant  or  un- 
necessary points  and  discarded  them. 

2.  Among  those  remaining  we  have  found  certain 
ones  that  stand  out  more  prominently  than  the 
rest, — certain  generic  terms,  that  is. 

3.  We  have  found  that  there  are  certain  smaller  or 


THE   INFORMAL   PLAN  23 

specific  terms  which  are  dependent  upon  these 
larger  ones. 
4.  We  have  found  a  suggestion  of  sequence  or  order 
among  the  words  that  tells  us  in  a  general  way 
which  topics  should  be  placed  here  and  which  should 
be  placed  there. 

We  have  learned  all  these  things  through  the  process 
known  as  selection  of  material  for  a  composition. 
And  now,  remembering  all  that  we  learned  in  Chapter  II 
about  sequence  and  proportion  and  subordination,  we  will 
attempt  to  draw  up  our  informal  plan  by  means  of  the 
process  known  in  composition  as  arrangement  of  ma- 
terial : — 

OUR  LITERARY  CLUB 

I.     Name — The  Emerson. 
II.     Place  of  meeting — School  building.    Room  35. 

III.  Time  of  meetings — Fridays  at  8  p.  m. 

IV.  Purposes: 

1.  Social  aims. 

2.  Intellectual  aims. 

V.    Membership : 

1.  Age. 

2.  Number. 

3.  Initiation. 

4.  Expenses. 

VI.     Officers : 

1.  Director. 

2.  President. 

3.  Vice-president. 

4.  Secretary. 

5.  Treasurer. 
0.  Critic. 


24  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

VII.     Meetings : 

1.  A  Typical  Meetiilg. 

a.  Call  to  order. 

b.  Roll-call. 

c.  Minutes  of  last  meeting. 

d.  Old  business. 

e.  New  business. 

f.  Recitation. 

g.  Oration, 
h.  Debate. 

i.    Extemporaneous  speeches. 

j.  Journal. 

k.  Adjournment. 

2.  Special  Public  Meeting. 

a.  Play. 

b.  Visitors. 

VIII.  Benefits: 

1.  Valuable  training. 

2.  Attention. 

3.  Order. 

4.  Prizes. 

Let  US  study  this  plan  very  closely  and  satisfy  our- 
selves that  it  observes  the  rules  thus  far  set  down;  in 
addition  we  may  learn  a  few  new  things  about  building  a 
composition  plan.  We  are  impressed  with  the  sequence 
and  the  proportion  of  the  various  points;  we  notice  too 
the  selection  and  arrangement  of  material;  we  observe  the 
strict  adherence  of*  topic  to  title ;  and  we  see  that  Roman 
and  Arabic  numerals  have  been  used  as  before,  with  the 
addition  of  small  letters. 

It  has  been  necessary  to  use  these  letters  because  there 
are  evidently  two  distinct  kinds  of  meetings  suggested  by 
our  unarranged  topics,  regular  and  special  or  public.  The 
generic  topic  "meetings''  is  therefore  subdivided  into  two 
specific  parts  and  each  of  these  two  parts  is  again  subdi- 


THE    INFORMAL    PLAN  25 

vided  into  specific  details  belonging  to  it.  This  triple  divi- 
sion must  be  noted  in  our  outline;  otherwise  the  enumera- 
tion of  our  points  under  ''meetings"  will  be  confused.  As 
we  give  a  play  and  admit  visitors  only  on  certain  stated 
occasions,  it  would  be  misleading  to  mention  these  things 
along  with  those  belonging  to  our  account  of  regular  meet- 
ings. It  would  be  as  if,  on  making  a  list  of  the  things  in 
a  certain  room,  we  should  do  it  in  this  wise : — 

I.  Contents  of  a  Room 

1.  Apples 

2.  Chairs 

3.  Table 

4.  Sofa 

5.  Peaches 

6.  Dog 

7.  Pears 

8.  Cat 

9.  Book-shelf 
10.  Pictures 

instead  of  as  follows : — 


I.   Contents  of  a  Room 

I. 

Furniture 

a. 

Chairs 

b. 

Table 

c. 

Sofa 

d. 

Book-shelf 

e. 

Pictures 

2. 

Fruit 

a. 

Apples 

b. 

Peaches 

c. 

Pears 

3- 

Animals 

a. 

Dog 

b. 

Cat 

2^  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

But,  just  as  we  could  not  make  a  major  division  of 
*'Fruit'',  or  of  ''Animals"  in  this  illustration,  for  they  are 
both  contents  of  a  room  we  have  in  mind,  so  we  cannot 
make  a  major  topic  of  ''Special  Public  Meeting''.  It  is  but 
another  kind  of  meeting,  not  an  independent  phase  of  our 
club.  The  only  logical  thing  for  us  to  do  therefore  is  to 
divide  and  subdivide  major  topic  VII,  making  two  grand 
divisions  under  '^meetings"  and  lettering  them  with  Arabic 
numerals  i  and  2.  Such  subordination  as  this  necessi- 
tates— VII- 1 -a — is  called  subordination  to  the  second  de- 
gree,— I  being  the  first  degree  of  subordination  and  a,  the 
second.  Further  degrees  of  subordination  will  be  consid- 
ered in  Chapter  IV. 

But  there  is  a  further  new  element  to  which  our  atten- 
tion must  be  called ;  i.  e.,  the  uniformity  of  expression  used 
throughout  the  plan.  We  have  used  nothing  but  nouns  and 
nouns  with  simple  modifiers  for  our  topics,  just  as  we  did 
in  the  plans  studied  in  Chapter  I.  It  is  important  to  observe 
the  matter  of  uniformity  of  topical  expression  for  the 
simple  reason  that  we  shall  find  ourselves  inclined  to  give 
undue  stress  in  the  written  composition  to  those  points  that 
are  the  more  elaborately  stated  or  the  more  firmly  accented. 
Moreover,  it  is  not  conducive  to  logical  and  systematic 
thinking  to  mix  the  form  of  one's  expressions  unnecessarily. 
Topic  V  for  instance  might  have  been  written  thus : — 

V.  Membership  , 

1.  Age 

2.  How  many 

3.  Initiation 

4.  Expensive 

in  which  case  we  should  have  had  two  adjectives  and  two 
nouns,  and  in  writing  the  composition  we  would  probably 


THE   INFORMAL    PLAN  27 

accent  the  noun  topic  at  the  expense  of  the  others,  perhaps 
all  unconsciously,  but  nevertheless  pretty  certainly.  A 
noun  inevitably  calls  for  a  more  prominent  place  in  any 
consideration  than  do  other  parts  of  speech.  But  it  is  just 
as  easy  to  use  nouns  for  all  the  topics  in  this  particular 
case,  and  the  mixing  of  the  form  indicates  nothing  but  a 
slip-shod,  slovenly  v^ay  of  expressing  ourselves.  We  have 
seen  the  characteristics  of  a  person  enumerated  in  this 
manner : — 

L  Characteristics  of  John 

1.  Determined 

2.  He  is  generous 

3.  A  great  student 

4.  Activity 

Of  course  this  is  very  bad  and  none  of  us  v^ould  think  of 
being  quite  so  inconsistent,  i.  is  an  adjective;  2.,  a  sen- 
tence; 3.,  a  noun  phrase;  4.,  a  noun.  Hov^  much  better 
it  would  be  to  write  the  little  plan  as  follows : — 

L  Characteristics  of  John 

1.  Determination 

2.  Generosity        ^  All  nouns 

3.  Studiousness 

4.  Activity 


or 


1.  Determined 

2.  Generous 

3.  Studious 

4.  Active 


All  adjectives 


We  shall  learn  more  of  this  hereafter  (Chapter  VI).  For 
the  present  let  us  be  careful  to  keep  the  form  of  our  topics 
as  nearly  similar  in  expression  as  possible,  to  make  them 


28  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

conformable  one  to  another.  If  we  commence  with  adjec- 
tives, let  us  retain  them  consistently  throughout  the  plan; 
if  we  commence  with  nouns,  let  us  keep  to  the  noun  form 
throughout. 

The  same  advice  applies  to  the  matter  of  capitaliza- 
tion. Our  major  topics  should  always  be  capitalized,  just 
as  we  capitalize  our  titles.  Or,  if  we  do  not  want  to 
capitalize  all  the  important  words  in  these  topics,  we  may 
confine  our  capitalization  to  the  first  word  alone.  Our 
subordinate  topics  may  be  capitalized  or  not,  as  we  wish, 
but  we  must  here,  as  everywhere,  be  perfectly  consistent 
in  the  matter.  We  must  not  capitalize  sometimes  and  at 
other  times  fail  to  capitalize.  It  is  perhaps  a  little 
better  to  capitalize  all  important  words  in  the  major  topics 
and  only  the  first  word  in  the  minor  or  subordinate 
topics. 

The  same  caution  is  necessary  perhaps  regarding  punc- 
tuation.    An  outline  is  a  table,  very  much  like 

2X2  =  4 
2X3  =  6 

and  as  a  rule,  therefore,  it  is  perfectly  clear  without  the 
aid  of  punctuation.  For  this  reason  punctuation  marks 
have  seldom  been  used  in  the  plans  of  this  book,  though 
the  topics  in  almost  any  plan  might  have  been  followed 
throughout  with  commas  or  periods.  In  cases  however 
where  distinct  values  can  be  shown  by  means  of  punctua- 
tion (as  on  page  215)  it  should  be  used.  Or  again,  in  a 
long,  involved  plan,  such  as  is  often  required  for  argu- 
ment (see  page  302),  where  the  interrelation  of  the  topics 
is  close  and  important,  that  punctuation  should  be  used 
which  would  be  correct  were  the  topics  written  out  end  to 
end  in  a  solid  mass.     Of  course  if  we  do  punctuate  in  our 


THE   INFORMAL    PLAN  29 

plans,  we  must  in  this,  as  in  the  other  technical  matters  just 
discussed,  be  consistent,  and  not  place  periods  after  some 
points,  commas  after  others,  and  allow  still  others  to  go 
unpunctuated.  We  must  never  write  anything  like  the  fol- 
lowing,— 

1.  Determined. 

2.  Generous 

3.  Studious,     ' 

4.  Active — 

The  plan  here  drawn  up  for  the  title,  our  literary 
CLUB,  is,  like  the  plan  for  the  food  i  ate  yesterday,  in 
Chapter  I,  a  graphic  plan.  But  all  plans  arranged  perpen- 
dicularly, with  topics  under  one  another,  are  graphic  or 
picture  plans.     There  are  two  kinds  of  graphic  plan, — ist, 

THE  INFORMAL  PLAN;  2nd,   THE  FORMAL  PLAN.      All  of  the 

graphic  plans  thus  far  presented  are  Informal  Plans.  This 
name  is  used  for  them  because  there  may  be  as  many  major 
topics  as  the  knowledge  of  the  composer  seems  to  justify 
within  the  limits  of  his  title;  that  is,  there  is  a  great  deal  of 
leeway  in  the  matter  of  main  divisions  in  his  outline  and 
composition,  as  many  being  permitted  him  as  his  knowl- 
edge and  reason  can  show  to  be  consistent.  We  saw  how 
elastic  the  plans  in  Chapter  I  are.  Some  people  may  eat  six 
meals  a  day;  some,  only  two.  The  former  would  therefore 
probably  divide  their  plan  into  six  main  divisions ;  the  latter, 
into  only  two.  We  shall  see  in  the  next  chapter  that  this  is 
not  true  of  the  Formal  Plan.  It  is  hard  and  fast  in  its  main 
divisions  of  subject-matter,  though  it  allows  much  oppor- 
tunity for  subdivision  within  these  parts. 

If  now  our  parents  could  look  at  the  plan  we  have  made 
for  the  composition  they  asked  us  to  write  for  them,  we 
think  that  they  could  get  a  fairly  good  idea  of  what  our 


30  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

club  is  like.  Indeed,  it  is  sufficiently  detailed  to  enable  us 
to  stand  up  before  an  audience  and  talk  freely  and  con- 
nectedly under  its  guidance.  But  since  our  parents  wanted 
us  to  write  a  composition,  we  should  go  to  work  and  de- 
velop this  skeleton  into  a  piece  of  consecutive  writing,  be- 
ing careful  to  vary  the  length  of  our  sentences  (see  Chap- 
ter IX).  Perhaps  it  will  be  most  convenient  for  us  to 
divide  our  composition  into  five  paragraphs, — elaborating 
the  first  four  topics  in  the  first,  and  giving  each  of  the  fol- 
lowing main  divisions  of  our  plan  a  paragraph  to  itself. 
It  is  quite  possible  however  that  topic  VII  will  require  two 
paragraphs  for  its  development,  since  it  is  the  most  impor- 
tant and  has  the  most  subordinate  topics  to  be  explained. 
We  are  not  obliged  to  commence  a  new  paragraph  every 
time  we  take  up  a  new  major  point  of  our  outline  for  dis- 
cussion. This  may  be  proper,  but  it  does  not  necessarily 
follow  at  all,  though  it  is  at  first  easier  for  us  to  do  so; 
hence,  our  direction  in  Chapter  I.  Such  a  procedure  in 
the  case  we  are  considering  would  make  some  of  the  para- 
graphs absurdly  small  and  detached,  many  of  them  con- 
sisting of  only  one  sentence.  While  there  might  be 
nothing  positively  wrong  about  this,  it  would  make  our 
finished  work  look  and  sound  extremely  childish  and 
primer-like. 

EXERCISE 

I.     Under  each  one  of  the  following  topics  write, 
(i)  the  definition  of  the  topic,  and  (2)  illustrations  of  it: 

Generic  Terms  Subdivision 

Specific  Terms  Uniformity  of  Expression 

Selection  of  Material  Capitalization 

Arrangement  of  Material  Informal  Plan 


THE   INFORMAL   PLAN  31 

IL     Select  from  the  following  list  all  the  generic 

words;  then  properly   subordinate  the  remaining  specific 
words.     Add  more  specific  words  if  you  can. 


building 

stable 

mud 

sand 

earth 

rose 

lilac 

oak 

tree 

diamond 

tulip 

palace 

maple 

rock 

house 

plant 

dust 

ruby- 

sapphire 

flower 

cottage 

clay 

bam 

grass 

in.  By  means  of  an  informal  plan,  name  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  various  members  of  your  family. 

IV.  Enumerate  by  means  of  outline  the  various 
faults  in  the  following  plan.  Re-write  it  correctly  (words 
may  be  added  for  its  improvement,  but  none  taken  away) 
and  give  reasons  for  your  corrections  and  additions,  if  any. 

OUR  CITY 
I.     Buildings. 

1.  kinds 

2.  High 

3.  Made  of  iron. 

4.  modern  improvements 

5.  Numerous 

6.  houses 

7.  comfortable,  ♦ 

8.  offices 

9.  Stores 

II.     Streets — 

1.  they  are  wide 

2.  Length  • 

3.  Beautiful 

4.  Paving; 

5.  Tracks 

III.     we  have  many  parks. 

1.  where 

2.  names 

3.  Animals 


3^  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

IV.     Much  Traffic, 

1.  cars: 

2.  All  kinds  of  wagons 

3.  underground, 

4.  Elevated  Roads 

5.  noise 

6.  automobiles 

7.  horses 

V.     a  few  Monuments: 

1.  Longacre  square 

2.  Union  Square 

3.  Farragut 

4.  Verdi 

5.  Lincoln 

VL    piers 

1.  Harbor  good — 

2.  deep  channel 

3.  Ships  from  everywhere. 


v.     Plan  and  write  a  composition  on  each  of  the  fol- 
lowing subjects: — 

My  Fishing  Trip  Our  Base-Ball  Team 

Our  Party  My  Room 

Playing  Wild  West  Our  Class-Room 

An  Hour  in  the  Woods  Queer  Fellows  I  Have  Known 


•VI.  Produce  in  class  the  process  you  followed  in 
making  the  plans  in  V;  the  process,  namely,  of  first  jotting 
things  down  as  they  occurred  to  you,  then  the  rejecting 
such  as  were  not  important  to  your  subject  in  each  case, 
and  then  your  meethod  or  principle  of  arrangement. 

VIL  From  each  of  the  following  groups  of  words 
make  a  plan    from    which   you    can   write   a    composition. 


THE   INFORMAL    PLAN 


33 


.Words  may  be  added  if  you  wish,  but  none  may  be  omit- 
ted:— 


I. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

hammock 

water 

examination 

bird 

occupant 

deep 

teacher 

eggs 

dog 

swim 

cheating 

stone 

faU 

danger 

expulsion 

boys 

book 

cramp 

discovery 

destruction 

anger 

rescue 

lesson 

grief 

VIII.  Select  from  the  following  list  of  words  those 
from  which  you  can  write  a  composition;  then  arrange 
them  into  a  good  plan,  placing  an  appropriate  title  at  the 
beginning  of  the  plan : — 


relations 

father 

occupations 

weeks 

cousins 

house 

amusement 

mother 

delightful 

games 

fireside 

my  sisters 

brother 

eyes 

visit 

home 

dear 

happy 

fortune 

our  conver- 

aunts 

ancestors 

uncles 

heroic 

sation 

history 

scolding 

funny 

portraits 

wild 

death 

grief 

]  prospects 

stranger 

respect 

marriage 

hopeless 

future 

company 

characteris- 
tics 
surprise 

IX.  From  the  topics  given  below  draw  up  two  plans 
for  compositions  which  they  suggest  to  you.  Give  appro- 
priate titles  to  both  plans,  and  write  the  compositions: — 


sparkling 

lady 

diamond 

gift 

husbanc 

valuable 

present 

chain 

beautiful 

burglar 

small 

search 

ewel 

dress 

lost 

stones 

birthday 

lopeless 

large 

never 

imported 

weeping 

ball 

absolutely 

deserve 

brilliant 

gaiety 

occur 

succeed 

desired 

X.     Make  an  outline  of  your  day's  work,  subordinat- 
ing to  the  second  degree  as  often  as  possible. 

XL     Show  by  outline  the  arrangement  of  rooms,  floor 
by  floor,  in  your  school  building.     Then  take  any  one  ma- 


34  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

jor  point  and  develop  it  into  a  detailed  outline,   subordi- 
nating to  the  second  degree  wherever  possible. 

XII.  Make  running  and  informal  plans  of  the  chap- 
ter on  page  i.  Explain  the  different  steps  of  the  process 
in  each  case, — selecting  and  subordinating  material,  ar- 
rangement, etc. 


■Jr 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE  FORMAL  PLAN 

The  Greeks  used  to  compare  the  parts  of  a  composition 
with  those  of  an  animal.  They  said  that  as  an  animal  has 
a  head,  a  body,  and  a  tail,  so  a  composition  must  have  a 
beginning,  a  middle,  and  an  end,  and  it  must  as  a  rule  have 
them  in  the  same  proportions.  These  divisions  have  come 
to  be  called : — 

INTRODUCTION 

DISCUSSION 

CONCLUSION 

and  the  arrangement  is  still  used  to  a  large  extent  for 
special  forms  of  composition.  It  may  be  applied  to  almost 
any  form  of  v^riting  that  any  of  us  in  the  ordinary  walks 
of  life  may  be  called  upon  to  do.  It  is  the  kind  of  scheme 
the  speaker  frequently  takes  upon  the  platform  with  him 
to  glance  at  from  time  to  time  during  the  course  of  his 
speech.  It  is  of  course  a  very  natural  order  of  develop- 
ment. In  the  ordinary  course  of  daily  affairs  we  intro- 
duce, then  discuss,  and  then  conclude,  though  we  do  not 
stop  to  consider  our  method.  And  the  three  words  them- 
selves connote  the  proportion;  the  discussion  or  develop- 
ment of  a  subject  very  naturally  requires  greater  space 
and  more  time  than  does  either  its  introduction  or  its  con- 
clusion. The  type  of  plan  which  these  three  words  give 
us  is  called  the  formal  plan^ — a  good  title,  given  it  be- 

35 


36  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

cause,  no  matter  how  broad  the  subject  of  our  discourse 
may  be,  it  must  be  confined  within  these  formal  limits, 
though  the  complexities  of  it  can  be  intricately  divided 
and  subdivided  within  these  three  boundaries. 

Let  us  consult  the  plan  on  *'Our  Literary  Club"  and 
see  whether  we  can  adapt  it  to  this  more  formal  type  of 
outline.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  first  six  major 
topics  (Chapter  III — Page  2^  are  introductory;  that  point 
number  VII  belongs  to  the  development ;  and  that  the  bene- 
fits derived  from  the  club  should  form  the  conclusion  to 
our  composition.  We  can  always  discern  a  certain  pre- 
liminary atmosphere  about  an  introductory  topic,  when  we 
hear  or  see  it,  that  is  not  present  in  the  other  topics.  So 
also  can  we  tell  the  discussion  and  the  conclusion.  It 
would  be  foolish  to  speak  of  the  benefits  of  our  club  be- 
fore we  have  given  a  full  account  of  it,  for  those  who 
had  followed  us  would  want  us  to  show  by  our  composi- 
tion that  there  are  real  benefits,  before  we  deduce  them. 
Moreover,  every  one  knows  that  the  salient  features  of  a 
club  are  its  meetings  and  the  work  that  it  accomplishes  in 
them.  Therefore,  the  bulk  or  *'meat''  of  our  composition 
must  deal  with  this  phase  of  the  club  work.  Perhaps,  then, 
bearing  these  things  in  mind,  we  should  make  a  Formal 
Plan  of  our  subject  somewhat  as  follows: — 


OUR  LITPRARY  CLUB 

I.  INTRODUCTION 

1.  Name 

2.  Meetings 

3.  Purposes 

4.  Membership 

5.  Officers 


THE   FORMAL   PLAN  37 

IL  DISCUSSION 

1.  A  Typical  Meeting 

a.  Call  to  order 

b.  Roll-call 

c.  Minutes 

d.  Old  business 

e.  New  business 

f.  Recitation 

g.  Oration 
h.  Debate 

i.  Extempore  speeches 
j.  Journal 
k.  Criticism 
1.  Adjournment 

2.  A  Special  Meeting 

a.  Play 

b.  Visitors 

III.  CONCLUSION 
I.  Benefits 

With  but  very  minor  changes  and  a  few  omissions  we 
have  included  here  all  the  chief  points  of  our  former  out- 
line, but  we  have  molded  them  into  a  different  form  or 
arrangement.  To  some  of  us  this  may  seem  a  very  much 
more  convenient  method  of  planning  than  the  Informal 
Plan.  It  saves  us  the  trouble  of  selecting  the  large  major 
topics  ourselves,  but  it  in  no  way  relieves  us  from  the  busi- 
ness of  organizing  and  subdividing  our  material  minutely. 
It  may  be  that  we  have  not  been  careful  enough  by  way  of 
minute  division  in  transposing  our  material  on  ''Our  Liter- 
ary Club''  from  the  Informal  to  the  Formal  Plan.  We 
have  omitted  certain  details,  but  they  can  be  easily  under- 
stood or  even  inserted  if  it  is  thought  necessary.  More- 
over, there  may  be  possibilities  of  further  subordination 
which  would  help  to  elucidate  the  subject.     Indeed,  points 


38  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

a-b-c-d-e  under  Discussion  seem  to  us  to  have  a  somewhat 
different  quality  from  points  f-g-h-i-j-k-1.  Let  us  see  then 
how  we  can  further  subordinate  some  of  these  topics  and 
thus  give  our  parents  a  fuller,  more  detailed  table  of  con- 
tents of  our  composition: — 

OUR  LITERARY  CLUB 

L    INTRODUCTION 

A.  General  Organization 

1.  Name 

2.  Meetings 

3.  Purposes 

B.  Particular  Organization 

1.  Membership 

2.  Officers 

11.     DISCUSSION 
A.  Meetings 

1.  A  typical  meeting 

a.  Routine 

(i)   Call  to  order 

(2)  Roll-call 

(3)  Minutes 

(4)  Old  business 

(5)  New  business 

b.  Program 

(i)  Recitation 

(2)  Oration 

(3)  Debate 

(4)  Extempore  speeches  ^ 

(5)  Journal 

(6)  Criticism 

(7)  Adjournment 

2.  A  special  meeting 

a.  Play 

b.  Visitors 


THE    FORMAL   PLAN  39 

IIL     CONCLUSION 
A.  Benefits 

1.  Valuable  training 

2.  Attention 

3.  Order 

4.  Prizes 

This,  we  think,  presents  a  much  clearer,  more  graphic 
view  of  our  subject  than  our  former  plan.  Of  course  we 
could  make  it  still  more  detailed,  if  there  were  good  reason 
for  doing  so.  We  could  enumerate  under  the  subordinate 
topics  of  the  second  degree  in  the  Introduction  those  points 
which  belong  to  each ;  for  instance,  under  *'name''  we  could 
place  ''Emerson" ;  under  ''meetings"  we  could  write  "time" 
and  "place"  and  so  on.  So,  also,  in  the  Discussion  we 
could  subordinate  still  further  almost  every  point  pre- 
sented. Though  subordination  to  such  an  extent  may  not 
be  necessary,  yet  it  may  have  its  advantages;  for  the  more 
elaborate  and  detailed  our  outline  is,  the  less  will  there  be 
left  for  us  to  do  when  we  come  to  write  the  composition. 
Let  us  once  again  therefore  reproduce  our  plan,  this  time 
as  fully  as  would  ever  be  necessary  for  all  practical  pur- 
poses : — 

OUR  LITERARY  CLUB 

L    INTRODUCTION 
A.  Organization 
I.  General 

a.  Name 

(i)  Emerson 

b.  Meetings 

(i)  Place 
(2)  Time 

c.  Purpose 

(i)   Social  aims 
(2)  Intellectual  aims 


40  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

2.  Particular 

a.  Membership 

(i)  Age 

(2)  Number 

(3)  Initiation 

(4)  Expenses 

b.  Officers 

(i)  Director 

(2)  President 

(3)  Vice-president 

(4)  Secretary 

(5)  Treasurer 

(6)  Critic 

II.    DISCUSSION 

A.  Meetings 

I.  A  typical  meeting 

a.  Routine 

(i)  Call  to  order 

(a)  Obedience 

(2)  Roll-call 

(a)  Response 

(b)  Absentees 

(3)  Minutes 

(a)  Corrections 

(b)  Adoption 

(4)  Old  business 

(a)  Re-discussion 

(b)  Decision 

(5)  New  business 

(a)  Inter-club  correspondence 

(b)  Bills  and  dues 

(c)  Advance  program 

b.  Program 

(i)  Recitation 

(a)  Character 

(b)  Applause 


THE   FORMAL   PLAN  41 

(2)  Oration 

(a)  Subject 

(b)  Eloquence 

(c)  Applause 

(3)  Debate 

(a)  Question 

(b)  Arguments 

(c)  Judges'  decision 

(4)  Extempore  speeches 

(a)  Variety 

(b)  Cleverness 

(5)  Journal 

(a)  Humorous  review 

(b)  Appreciation 
'(6)  Criticism 

(a)  Benefits 
(7)  Adjournment 
2.  A  special  meeting 

a.  Play 

(i)  Modern  drama 

(2)  Theater 

(3)  Great  event 

b.  Visitors 

(i)   Friends 

(2)  Relatives 

(3)  Dramatic  critics 


in.  CONCLUSION 
A.  Benefits 

1.  Valuable  training 

a.  Speaking 

b.  Argument 

c.  Information 

2.  Attention 

a.  Self-control 


42  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

3.  Order 

a.  Parliamentary  proceeding 

4.  Prizes 

a.  Books 

b.  Medals 

It  is  not  often  of  course  that  we  shall  be  called  upon  to 
elaborate  our  plans  quite  as  fully  as  this  one  has  been 
elaborated.  Everything  depends  upon  the  scope  which  we 
wish  our  composition  to  cover.  If  we  are  to  explain  our 
club  to  a  friend  who  is  a  member  of  a  club  similar  to  ours 
in  another  city,  why,  to  be  sure  we  shall  not  be  obliged 
to  go  into  minute  details  about  those  things  that  are  com- 
mon to  all  clubs;  such  as  qfificers,  business  routine,  bene- 
fits, etc.  These  matters  would  be  understood  by  him  for 
they  are  commonplaces  of  his  own  club  work.  In  such  a 
case,  then,  the  scope  of  our  work  should  wisely  be  narrowed 
to  those  points  in  which  we  feel  our  club  to  be  unique  or 
different  from  other  clubs.  But  being  asked  by  our 
parents,  or  by  some  one  else,  who  had  never  seen  or  heard 
about  such  a  club,  our  problem  would  be  vastly  changed. 
The  scope  of  our  composition  would  immediately  become 
widened  and  we  should  be  obliged  to  go  into  detail  in 
dealing  with  the  most  obvious  considerations  about  the 
club,  as  we  have  done  above.  We  shall  learn  more 
about  this  adaptation  of  our  compositions  to  our  read- 
ers when  we  come  to  study  Point  of  View  and  Purpose  in 
Chapter  VII. 

We  have  seen  from  our  illustrative  plan  that  though 
the  Formal  Plan  confines  us  to  the  three  major  divisions, — 
Introduction,  Discussion  and  Conclusion, — it  in  no  way 
limits  our  extensive  subdivision  of  subordinate  topics.  It 
gives  us  almost  as  much   freedom  as  does  the  Informal 


THE   FORMAL   PLAN  43 

Plan.  In  fact,  we  might  justifiably  prefer  always  to  draw 
up  an  Informal  Plan  for  our  composition,  and  then  divide 
it  into  these  three  cardinal  portions.  Take,  for  instance, 
our  first  plan  on  "What  I  Ate  Yesterday'': — 


s  ) 

INTRODUCTION 

It 

Breakfast 

Breakfast 

c 

^ 

DISCUSSION 

0 

Luncheon 

Luncheon 

:3     - 
(J 

Dinner 

or 

Dinner 

CO 

Q 

Afternoon   Tea 

Afternoon  Tea 

c    ) 

CONCLUSION 

cS    1 

Supper 

Supper 

We  may  permit  it  to  stand  just  exactly  as  it  was  drawn 
informally,  and  place  the  names  of  our  three  great  formal 
divisions  above  or  around  the  parts  to  which  they  respec- 
tively belong.  The  good  Informal  Plan  can  nearly  always 
be  fitted  into  these  formal  divisions,  and,  conversely,  the 
good  Formal  Plan  can  as  a  rule  permit,  without  any  detri- 
ment whatever,  these  three  terms  to  be  removed,  and  thus 
be  resolved  into  the  Informal  Plan.  We  shall  see  in  a 
little  while  that  they  are  not  always  interchangeable — 
writing  would  become  a  very  sorry  and  a  very  mechanical 
business  if  they  were, — but  for  most  ordinary  purposes  the 
one  may  be  used  instead  of  the  other,  the  one  will  very 
often  be  found  to  be  the  other.  At  best,  they  only  repre- 
sent two  ways  of  doing  the  same  thing. 

We  have  noticed  by  this  time  that,  as  the  subdivision 
of  parts  in  our  outline  becomes  more  and  more  detailed, 
so  our  system  of  marking  those  parts  in  order  to  keep  them 
distinct  from  one  another  becomes  more  and  more  compli- 
cated. Just  a  word  may  be  necessary  here  about  this  con- 
sistent TABULATION^  or  this  numbering  and  lettering  of  the 


44  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

various  degrees  of  subordination.  In  simple  plans  of  but 
one  or  two  degrees  of  subordination  we  may  use  large 
Roman  numerals  for  the  topics  of  first  importance  and 
Arabic  numerals  for  those  next  in  importance.  If  the  plan 
be  carried  one  degree  further  we  may  use  small  letters. 
Thus,  we  may  have 

I.  I. 

1.  I. 

2.  or  2. 

3-  a. 

n.  b. 

1.  c. 

2.  3. 


n. 


a. 
b. 


as  the  case  may  be.  In  more  complex  plans,  however,  such 
as  OUR  LITERARY  CLUB  has  growu  to  be,  the  large  Roman 
numerals  are  used  to  denote  points  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance and  capital  letters  are  used  for  those  points  next  in 
importance.  The  Arabic  numerals  are  used  to  designate  the 
next  degree  of  subordination,  and  small  letters  for  the 
next ; thus 

L  I. 

A.  A. 

B.  but  not  B. 

1.  I. 

2.  2. 

3-  3- 

a.  a— 

b.  b— 

n.  n— 

We  must  be  careful  not  only  to  have  a  separate  notation 
or  tabulation  for  each  grade  of  subordination,  but  we  must 


THE   FORMAL   PLAN  45 

be  equally  careful  to  place  each  one  of  these  grades  on  a 
margin  of  its  own,  inserting  it  slightly  to  the  right  under 
the  major  topic  to  which  it  properly  belongs.  There  must 
in  other  words  be  as  many  margins  as  there  are  grades  of 
subordination.  The  large  Roman  numerals  establish  one; 
the  capital  letters,  another ;  and  so  on,  as  above.  In  subor- 
dinating our  topics  beyond  the  third  degree  we  simply  re- 
peat the  last  number  and  letter,  but  we  place  them  in  paren- 
theses : — 

I— 

A— 

I — 

a — 

(I)- 

(a)- 

If  still  further  subdivision  be  required,  we  may  use  the 
parenthetical  tabulations  with  the  prime  mark  ' : — 

I. 

A. 

I. 

a. 

(a). 

(I)'. 

(a)'. 

This  gives  us  unlimited  range  of  extension,  for  we  can 
now  consistently  continue  by  means  of  the  double  prime  ' ', 
the  triple  prime  ' ' ',  and  so  forth.  We  shall  find  many 
disagreements  among  authorities  as  to  this  matter  of  tabu- 
lation, and  there  are  many  methods  quite  as  good  as  the 
one  here  presented.  Indeed,  we  may  find  many  that  will 
suit  our  individual  tastes  better;  but  the  important  thing 
is,  to  have  one  consistent  method  of  tabulation  and  to  hold 
to  that.     It  is  not  likely  that  we  shall  often  be  called  upon 


46  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

to  subordinate  further  than  six  places,  and  the  system 
which  we  have  used  in  our  outHne  and  illustrated  just 
above  will  be  found  quite  convenient  and  practicable. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  after  the  figures  and  letters  used 
in  tabulating  our  topics  we  have  sometimes  used  a  period, 
and  sometimes  a  dash.  One  or  the  other  should  always 
be  placed  after  the  figure  or  the  letter  used.  This  separates 
the  writing  from  the  tabulation  and  prevents  confusion. 
Here,  as  elsewhere,  however,  we  must  be  systematic.  We 
should  not  use  the  period  sometimes  and  the  dash  at  other 
times  in  the  same  plan. 

It  is  always  well  to  be  simple  in  whatever  we  do,  and 
this  applies  no  less  to  our  work  in  composition  than  in 
other  things.  It  is  possible  that  we  ourselves  may  *'get 
lost"  in  the  involutions  and  entanglements  of  our  plans  if 
we  are  over-insistent  upon  a  too  severe  subdivision  of  sub- 
ject matter.  Of  course  all  depends  upon  our  audience  and 
our  knowledge  of  the  matter  in  hand.  We  may  avoid  this 
danger  sometimes  by  combining  the  running  plan  with  the 
graphic  plan.  This  will  not  only  relieve  us  from  a  too- 
puzzling  tabulation,  but,  what  is  quite  as  important,  it  will 
save  space  for  us  as  well.  The  degrees  of  subordination 
may  be  shown  in  the  running  portion  of  the  plan  by  means 
of  large  and  small  writing,  and  also  by  systematic  capitali- 
zation and  spacing.  The  main  points  (I  and  A)  only 
are  kept  in  the  graphic  form,  all  others  being  condensed  to 
the  more  solidly  written  running  arrangement.  Thus,  the 
introduction  of  our  last  plan  might  be  written  as  follows : — 

I.    I-N-T-R-0-D-U-C-T-I-O-N 

A.  ORGANIZATION,  General :— Name— Emerson.  Meet- 
ings— place,  time.  Pur- 
poses— social  aims,  intel- 
lectual aims. 


THE    FORMAL    PLAN  47 

B.     ORGANIZATION,  Particular  .-  —  Membership  — 

age,  number,  initiation, 
expenses.  Officers — di- 
rector, president,  vice- 
president,  secretary, 
treasurer,  critic. 
II.     D-I-S-C-U-S-S-I-O-N 

If  we  study  this  carefully  we  shall  see  that  we  have  here 
kept  our  grades  of  subordination  quite  distinct  by  means 
of  spacing  and  capitalization,  and  by  the  running-graphic 
arrangement  have  used  hardly  half  as  much  space  as  was 
used  in  our  Formal  Plan.  We  have,  moreover,  omitted 
none  of  the  points  there  included.  It  is  probable  that  such 
a  plan  as  this,  carried  to  great  detail,  is  never  quite  as  clear 
to  one  who  is  a  stranger  to  the  subject  we  happen  to  be 
developing.  It  presents  lucidly  only  the  salient  features, 
leaving  the  others  somewhat  obscure  to  the  unacquainted 
or  undisciplined  mind.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  one  of 
the  very  best  plans  when  minute  development  is  required 
for  the  benefit  of  those  of  our  readers  who  are  in  the  habit 
of  mental  organizing;  our  parents,  for  instance,  might  have 
considerable  difficulty  in  deciphering  the  meaning  from  our 
plan  under  certain  headings,  whereas  our  young  club 
friend  from  another  city  would  see  at  once  what  the  rela- 
tions and  meanings  of  our  topics  are. 

The  name  we  have  given  this  type  of  plan — running- 
graphic — defines  it  at  the  same  time  that  it  gives  us  a 
clear  title  for  distinguishing  it.  It  is  well,  however,  to 
remember  that  nomenclature  is  only  a  means  to  an  end. 
We  must  never  enslave  ourselves  to  it.  We  must  never 
over-accent  names  at  the  sacrifice  of  getting  what  they  stand 
for.  It  matters  little  what  a  thing  is  called  so  long  as  we 
understand  the  thing  itself.     It  matters  not  very  much  how 


48  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

we  tabulate  our  plan  or  what  method  we  follow  in  drawing 
it  up,  so  long  as,  when  done,  it  presents  a  sequential,  con- 
sistent, understandable  development  of  our  subject.  In 
fact,  we  need  not  bother  with  numbers  and  letters  at  all, 
provided  we  are  careful  to  show  the  inter-relation  of  topics 
by  straight  margins.  It  might  be  quite  as  well  to  outline 
in  this  way : — 


without  any  tabulation  whatever;  only  we  should  not  be 
able  to  refer  so  easily  and  so  quickly  to  any  one  point  (see 
Chapter  II,  Page  14).  Even  these  three  terms:  Introduc- 
tion, Discussion,  Conclusion,  are  variously  called 

Beginning 
Heading 
Introduction 
"Start" 

and  very  often  we  will  find  that  we  can  dispense  with  any 
or  all  of  these  names  and  apportion  the  parts  they  stand  for 
by  means  of  lines  to  show  the  proportion : — 


I. 
2. 


Middle 

End 

Body 

Closing 

Development 

Conclusion 

"Struggle" 

"Finish" 

THE    FORMAL    PLAN  49 

And  if  we  can  keep  our  subject-matter  clear  by  this  means 
and  can  make  ourselves  understood,  we  are  perfectly  justi- 
fied always  in  reducing  technicalities  to  a  minimum.  We 
must  know  the  meanings  of  some  technical  terms,  but  the 
terms  themselves  we  must  always  assign  to  a  subordinate 
place  in  our  minds. 

So  far  in  our  study  of  plan  building  we  have  dealt  only 
with  the  regular,  most  obvious,  most  'common  types  of  de- 
velopment ;  the  development,  that  is,  that  starts  with  the  be- 
ginnings of  things,  traces  their  growth  and  maturity,  and 
then  concludes.  This  we  have  called  the  natural  method, 
because  we  observe  that  Nature  in  all  her  processes  follows 
this  arrangement.  She  first  germinates  the  seed;  then  she 
develops  the  luxuriant  tree;  and  then  there  follow  the  dis- 
integration and  decay.  We  see  the  same  thing  in  youth, 
middle  life,  and  old  age;  in  morning,  noon,  and  night;  in 
the  source,  course,  and  mouth  of  a  river;  and  in  the  many 
other  manifestations  of  natural  phenomena.  And  we  are 
all  aware  that  the  number  three,  in  addition  to  its  being  a 
natural  number,  is  also  a  sacred  number,  sometimes  called 
"the  figure  of  the  gods". 

But,  as  we  have  already  probably  surmised,  it  does  not 
always  follow  that,  in  planning  a  composition,  this  natural 
order  should  be  observed.  For  the  most  part  it  should  be, 
particularly  in  certain  types  of  composition,  as  we  shall 
see  hereafter.  But  in  certain  other  types  we  shall  see  that 
very  often  it  should  not  be  followed.  The  thing  that  w;e 
have  been  trying  to  learn  so  far  is  that  we  must  attain 
to  the  high  habit  of  ordered,  consistent  thinking,  and  make 
our  composition  work  reflect  this  habit.  To  this  end  we 
have  found  the  study  of  the  chronological,  natural-order 
plan  a  good  deal  more  valuable  than  the  study  of  any  other 


50  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

could  possibly  have  been.  When  we  come  to  study  Narra- 
tion and  Description,  we  shall  find  that  there  are  many  vari- 
ations from  this  type,  all  of  which  may  be  as  systematic  and 
orderly  as  those  we  have  studied. 

It  is  perhaps  too  much  to  say  that  there  are  as  many 
good  ways  of  telling  a  story  as  there  are  people  to  tell  it. 
But  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  our  reading,  if  we  have 
been  observant,  we  have  discovered  more  than  one  method 
of  story  telling.  Coleridge,  for  instance,  in  The  Ancient 
Mariner,  starts  the  story  at  once  and  even  concludes  it  be- 
fore he  gives  any  introduction  to  it.  We  recall  that  at  the 
very  outset  an  ancient  mariner  stopped  a  wedding  guest  on 
his  way  to  a  wedding,  and,  from  that  incident  on,  the  story 
never  slackens  until  the  mariner  is  safely  delivered  into 
the  hands  of  the  hermit.  Then  the  poet  tells  us  how  and 
why  and  where  and  when  it  all  came  about.  The  mariner 
it  seems  was  obliged  to  tell  his  story  at  certain  stated  inter- 
vals because  of  a  ''spell"  which  came  upon  him,  and  in- 
tuitively he  knew  the  man  who'  must  hear  him  when  he 
saw  him.  We  see  then  that  Coleridge  arranged  his  poem 
in  this  wise : — 

DISCUSSION 

CONCLUSION 

INTRODUCTION 

and  we  understand  of  course  the  advantages  of  this  arrange- 
ment in  this  particular  case.  The  "spell"  comes  suddenly 
and  the  instant  it  comes  the  mariner  must  tell  his  story. 
It  is  particularly  urgent  that  he  tell  it  this  time  for  it  just 
happens  that  the  right  man  appears  at  the  psychological 
moment.  The  poet  would  therefore  not  be  true  to  the  nat- 
ural circumstances  of  the  case  were  he  to  tarry  at  the  outset 
with  a  long  introduction.     In  other  words  Coleridge  starts 


THE    FORMAL    PLAN  51 

his  story  of  the  mariner's  story  as  the  mariner  himself  was 
obliged  for  physical,  mental,  spiritual  reasons  to  begin. 
Thus  his  handling  of  the  tale  has  been  in  keeping  and  very 
natural  in  the  light  of  the  unnatural  and  weird  circum- 
stances. 

Again,  in  many  of  Poe's  'Tales''  we  find  that  the  author 
not  only  omits  a  conclusion  altogether  but,  like  Coleridge, 
begins  his  story  at  once,  the  introductory  elements  being 
brought  out  incidentally  as  we  proceed  with  the  unfolding 
of  the  interesting  events.  On  the  other  hand  we  recall  that 
in  Scott's  Ivanhoe,  in  Dickens'  A  Tale  of  Two  Cities,  in 
Goldsmith's  Vicar  of  Wakefield,  and  in  the  many  other 
classics  we  have  read,  a  more  or  less  strict  adherence  to  the 
arrangement  observed  in  our  literary  club  has  been  the 
rule. 

The  important  thing  for  us  to  remember  is  that  Cole- 
ridge and  Poe  and  their  host  of  fellow-writers  have  some 
definite  plan  which  they  definitely  follow.  There  is  nothing 
haphazard  about  their  arrangement  of  material,  as  we  can 
easily  understand  if  we  examine  a  few  specimens  of  their 
work.  We  shall  find  that  they  have  simply  adapted  their 
method  of  telling  their  stories  to  the  conditions  which 
the  story  demands  in  each  case.  They  have  only  been  care- 
ful to  adjust  method  to  matter.  To  be  sure  an  author  may, 
in  order  to  produce  an  effect,  make  his  story  seem 
to  lack  plan.  Lowell,  for  instance,  in  his  The  Vision  of 
Sir  Launfal,  purposely  gives  something  of  dreamlike  ir- 
regularity and  spirit  to  his  poem  because  it  is  the  vision  of 
Sir  Launfal,  but  he  always  does  so  consistently  and  sys- 
tematically. 

If  we  cared  to  we  might  very  easily  omit  the  introduc- 
tion to  our  elaborate  plan  a  few  pages  back,  bringing  out  the 
points  contained  therein  incidentally  under  the  discussion : — 


52  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

II.  DISCUSSION 

A.  Meetings 

I.  A  typical  meeting 
a.  Routine 

(i)   Call  to  order  by  president 
(a)   Obedience 

(2)  Roll-call  by  secretary 

(a)  Response 

(b)  Absentees 

(3)  Minutes 

(a)  Time  and  place  of  meeting  and 

name  of  club  revealed  in 
opening  sentence  —  "The 
Emerson  Literary  Club  as- 
sembled in  school  building 
last  Thursday  evening  at  8 
o'clock'* 

(b)  Corrections 

(c)  Adoption 

(4)  Old  business 

(a)  Re-discussion 

(i)  of  things  pertaining  to 
purposes  of  club,  perhaps, 
or  to  membership 

(b)  Decision 

(5)  New  business 

(a)   Matters  may  have  come  up  per- 
taining   to    the    treasurer   or 
vice-president 
etc. 

We  shall  find  by  comparison  that  most  of  the  points  in 
the  Introduction  are  now  mentioned  in  one  place  or  another 
under  the  Discussion.  At  least  a  method  for  omitting  the 
Introduction  has  been  found.  This  is  not  of  course  a  wise 
arrangement  in  our  particular  case.  We  need  to  dwell  at 
some  little  length  on  the  preliminary  matter  contained  in 
our  Introduction  because  our  parents,  for  whom  we  are  writ- 


THE   FORMAL   PLAN  53 

ing  the  composition  and  whom  we  must  ever  keep  in  mind 
therefore,  presumably  know  nothing  whatever  about  our 
club.  But  if  we  were  writing  for  one  who  is  versed  in  club 
organization,  and  who  wants  more  especially  to  know  how 
we  conduct  our  meetings,  such  details  as  officers,  expenses, 
purposes,  etc.,  if  mentioned  at  all,  might  very  properly  be 
assigned  an  incidental  place  in  our  plan.  The  same  process 
could  also  be  followed  in  the  Conclusion.  Such  an  arrange- 
ment would  of  course  make  the  plan  Informal. 

We  shall  learn  a  little  later  (Chapter  VII)  more  exactly 
how  to  be  guided  in  attacking  and  developing  a  subject  un- 
der various  circumstances.  It  is  enough  for  the  present  to 
fix  in  our  minds  immovably  the  few  principles  we  have 
already  learned  about  planning  a  composition,  and  to  be 
able  to  apply  these  principles  to  the  work  asked  for  in  the 
following  exercise. 

EXERCISE 

I.     Show  by  means  of  outline  what  you  understand 
by  each  of  the  following: — 

The  Formal  Plan 

Degrees  of  Subordination 

Scope  of  Subject 

Formal  vs.  Informal  Plans 

Tabulation 

The  Running-Graphic  Plan 

Caution  Regarding  Names 

II.     Make  an  outline  of  the  material  contained  in  the 
last  eight  paragraphs  of  this  chapter. 

III.     Make  an  Informal  Plan  for  each  of  the  follow- 
ing topics  and  then  convert  it  into  a  Formal  Plan : — 

At  the  Rink 
Our  Debate 


54  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

An  Afternoon  in  the  Park 
Games  I  Can  Play 
Baseball — The  Diamond 
Baseball — The  Game 
Football — The  Gridiron 
Football — The  Game 
A  Great  Address  That  I  Heard 
Happenings  at  Noon  Recess 

IV.  From  the  following  suggestions  write  a  sketch 
of  Tabby,  making  first  a  careful  Formal  Plan: — 

Tabby  was  an  exceptional  cat.  In  appearance  she  was 
beautiful;  in  disposition,  lovable;  in  behavior,  exemplary. 
Everybody  was  kind  to  Tabby  because  Tabby  was  kind  to 
everybody. 

V.  Draw  up  three  plans — Formal,  Informal,  and 
Running-graphic — of  the  whole  series  of  events  summar- 
ized below.    Write  the  composition  from  one  of  them. 

On  the  way  to  school  this  morning  Tom  fell  before  a 
car  and  was  seriously  hurt.  The  ambulance  was  called; 
a  crowd  gathered;  and  the  motor-man  was  arrested.  It 
fell  to  your  lot  to  return  to  Tom's  home  and  tell  his 
mother  of  the  catastrophe,  and  then  accompany  her  to  the 
hospital. 

VI.  Make  a  Formal  Plan  for  a  composition  you 
would  write  on  '7™'s  Arrest". 

Deal  with  the  cause  of  arrest,  the  actual  arrest,  and  the 
liberation. 

VII.  Suppose  that  in  one  of  your  classes  to-day  the 
following  incidents  took  place, — failure,  disobedience,  acci- 
dent, visit.  Plan  and  write  a  composition  entitled  "An 
Exciting  Recitation". 

VIII.     Enumerate  in  two  different  kinds  of  plans  all 
the  events  you  have  read  of  in  the  newspapers  the  past 


THE   FORMAL   PLAN  55 

week.  Make  your  first  plan  Informal,  enumerating  these 
items  chronologically ;  make  your  second,  Formal,  enumera- 
ting the  most  important  notices  under  Discussion.  Explain 
why  you  have  or  have  not  a  conclusion. 

IX.  Make  a  Formal  Plan  of  a  trip  you  have  some 
time  taken  or  one  that  you  contemplate  taking,  or  would 
like  to  take. 

X.  Make  a  Formal  Plan  of  everything  you  noticed 
on  your  way  to  school  this  morning.  Indicate  subordi- 
nately  "     means  of  travel  and  the  route  taken. 

XL  Draw  up  a  plan  for  a  composition  to  be  written 
on :  ''My  Reading  for  the  Past  Year",  indicating  authors, 
titles,  kinds  of  reading,  and  reasons  for  your  liking  or  dis- 
liking the  various  books. 

XII.  Review  mentally  the  different  short  stories  or 
poems  you  have  read  recently,  in  or  out  of  school,  and  show 
by  plan  how  they  have  been  developed. 

Have  they  followed  chronological  order? 
Have  they  been  developed  formally? 
Have  they  omitted  Introduction  or  Conclusion? 
If  either  or  both,  why? 


CHAPTER V 

THE  PARAGRAPH  PLAN 

A  paragraph  is  a  coherently  arranged  group  of  sen- 
tences all  dealing  with  a  single  idea.  This  idea  may  be 
but  a  portion  of  a  larger  idea,  but,  if  so,  it  is  a  portion  that 
stands  out  distinctly  as  a  justifiable  and  natural  section  of 
the  larger  one.  If  we  were  to  write  a  composition  on  such 
a  subject  as  ''Street  Paving",  naturally  we  would  not  tell 
all  we  know  about  street  paving  in  one  long,  undivided 
theme,  but  we  would  very  properly  consider  the  various 
kinds  of  street  paving  we  are  familiar  with,  and  then  devote 
a  section  of  our  composition  to  each  kind.  These  sections 
would  be  our  paragraphs.  We  might,  to  be  sure,  preface 
or  conclude  our  sketch  with  a  paragraph,  speaking  of  street 
paving  in  a  general  way,  but  only  as  an  introduction  to  or 
summary  of  our  more  detailed  account.  Thus,  while  our 
principal  theme  would  be  ''Street  Paving",  that  idea  or 
theme  would  be  divided  into  several  subordinate  ones,  each 
a  complete  idea  in  itself,  yet  each  belonging  to  the  generic 
title.  Let  us  briefly  indicate  this  paragraph  division  by 
plan  :— 

1.  Street  Paving 

1.  Cobblestones 

2.  Belgian  blocks 

3.  Asphalt 

4.  Macadam 

5.  Wooden  blocks 

56 


THE   PARAGRAPH    PLAN  57 

Let  us  suppose  this  to  represent  one  person's  knowledge 
of  the  subject  under  consideration.  Roughly  speaking  we 
might  therefore  have  six  paragraphs,  all  related  closely  to 
one  another,  yet  all  belonging  to  the  general  subject  ''Street 
Paving".  We  would  designate  the  transition  in  our  com- 
position from  one  of  these  divisions  to  another  by  means  of 
establishing  a  new  or  paragraph  margin ;  that  is,  by  insert- 
ing the  first  line  of  every  paragraph  about  a  half  inch  far- 
ther to  the  right  than  the  beginnings  of  the  ordinary  lines. 
We  can  get  a  good  idea  of  the  relation  between  these  two' 
margins — the  line  margin  and  the  paragraph  margin — by 
glancing  at  almost  any  page  in  this  book. 

As  to  the  length  of  paragraphs  there  can  be  no  rule 
laid  down,  for  the  subject-matter  must  always  decide  this 
issue  for  us.  Most  of  us  no  doubt  could  write  more  about 
some  one  type  of  paving  than  we  could  about  any  one  of 
the  other  kinds  mentioned ;  if  we  had  a  large  knowledge  of 
asphalt  paving,  for  instance,  or  if  our  fathers  were  experts 
in  macadamizing  we  might  write  considerably  more  about 
one  of  these  particular  types.  It  might  become  necessary 
indeed  for  us  to  allot  to  any  one  or  all  of  these  topics  more 
than  one  paragraph,  according  as  our  knowledge  varied. 

We  should  guard  against  writing  excessively  long  para- 
graphs just  as  strongly  as  we  should  against  writing  para- 
graphs of  only  one  or  two  sentences.  The  excessively  long 
ones,  used  habitually,  tend  to  make  our  work  heavy  and 
difficult  to  understand ;  the  very  short  ones  make  our  work 
choppy,  detached  and  confused.  If  we  study  our  plans 
carefully  before  starting  to  write  our  compositions,  we  can 
usually  find  excellent  possibilities  for  adjusting  the  matter 
to  be  contained  in  the  composition  into  paragraphs  of  rea- 
sonable and  varied  lengths.  There  may  be  occasions  of 
course  when  we  shall  have  to  go  to  extremes,  one  way  or 


58  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

the  other,  in  the  division  of  our  paragraphs.  A  case  in 
point  is  in  the  writing  of  conversation.  If  it  be  continued 
for  some  length  we  may  with  perfect  correctness  have  some 
very  short  paragraphs.    Let  us  examine  the  following : — 

"Hello,  John,"  said  Bill. 

"Hello,  old  fellow!     Where  are  you  going?" 

"O,  just  down  the  street  for  mother." 

"May  I  come  along?"  asked  John. 

"Yes,  if  you'll  carry  some  of  my  packages  coming  back",  re- 
plied Bill,  with  an  eye  for  business. 

"It's  a  go !"  exclaimed  John. 

The  two  trudged  off  together  as  if  their  quarrel  of  yesterday 
had  never  happened,  John  taking  Bill's  hand  before  they  were  out 
of  sight. 

Here  we  have  some  paragraphs  of  but  a  few  words,  and 
they  might  have  been  even  briefer  than  they  are.  It  may 
be  equally  necessary  for  us  at  times  tO'  write  a  very  long 
paragraph,  especially  if  we  are  dealing  with-  a  subject  that 
does  not  lend  itself  easily  to  subdivision.  Where  this  is 
the  case,  we  should  frequently  mention  our  subject  in  the 
course  of  the  paragraph  so  that  the  reader  will  not  be 
obliged  to  refer  back.  Further  directions  will  be  given 
about  the  long  paragraph  when  we  come  to  the  study  of 
topic  sentences  a  little  later. 

Let  us  now  examine  this  conversation  a  bit  more  closely. 
Our  title  for  the  passage  might  very  appropriately  be  'The 
Conversation  of  John  and  Bill".  Each  paragraph  deals 
with  a  separate  idea  under  this  heading,  yet  all  the  ideas 
are  related  or  unified  under  it.  When  therefore  conversa- 
tion is  carried  to  some  length,  through  several  responses, 
each  response,  however  short,  should  constitute  a  separate 
paragraph.  This  may  mean,  as  just  stated,  that  we  shall 
sometimes  have  paragraphs  containing  but  a  single  word. 


THE   PARAGRAPH   PLAN  .     59 

When  however  the  conversation  is  very  brief,  consisting,  it 
may  be,  of  but  a  single  question  and  answer,  the  conversa- 
tional matter  may  very  properly  be  placed  within  a  single 
paragraph.  Authors  vary  widely  in  this  and  unfortunately 
individual  authors  are  not  always  consistent.  Sometimes 
the  same  author  will  paragraph  every  whit  of  conversation, 
and  at  others  will  include  conversation  of  three  or  four  re- 
sponses in  a  solid  paragraph.  We  shall  be  well  advised  to 
follow  the  rule  laid  down  above  and  here  illustrated 
further : — 

The  two  boys  trudged  off  together  as  if  their  quarrel  of  yes- 
terday had  never  happened,  John  taking  Bill's  hand  before  they 
were  out  of  sight.  They  walked  in  silence  for  some  time.  Then 
Bill  said,  'T  thought  you  were  angry."  There  was  another  long  si- 
lence before  any  reply  was  made.  Finally  John  said,  sheepishly, 
*T  was,  but  I'm  all  right  now." 

Here  we  have  a  brief  conversation  included  in  a  single 
paragraph,  instead  of  in  four,  the  number  that  would  be 
required  were  we  to  paragraph  the  conversation.  We  have 
moreover  simplified  the  subject-matter  and  saved  much 
space.  On  the  other  hand  we  have  lost  the  picture  or 
graphic  efifect  that  the  paragraphed  conversation  always 
gives  us.  In  conclusion  then  let  us  remember  that  where 
the  conversation  is  very  slight  we  should  not  paragraph  it; 
where  it  is  more  or  less  extended  we  should  paragraph  every 
single  contribution  to  it.  In  all  cases  of  writing  conversa- 
tion we  must  be  careful  of  course  to  punctuate  accurately 
(see  Chapter  XVI). 

But  we  are  studying  planning,  and  in  this  chapter  it  is 
our  business  therefore  to  deal  with  the  average  paragraph, 
not  with  the  short  question  and  answer  paragraph.  Wher- 
ever in  conversation  we  have  a  long  passage  to  record,  all 


6o  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

spoken  by  one  person,  we  must  observe  the  same  rules  for 
paragraphing  as  we  would  observe  in  any  other  style  of 
writing.  So  much  has  been  said  about  the  writing  of  con- 
versation only  because  it  is  a  subject  upon  which  there  is 
much  confusion  in  the  minds  of  pupils  and  because  so  many 
errors  in  such  writing  are  constantly  made. 

In  the  ordinary  paragraph — in  the  paragraph,  that  is, 
other  than  the  conversational — we  have  something  of  a 
miniature  formal  plan :  that  is  to  say,  we  have  something 
very  like  Introduction,  Discussion,  and  Conclusion.  We 
call  the  introduction  of  a  paragraph  the  topic  sentence. 
Usually  it  is  the  first  sentence  in  the  paragraph  and  con- 
tains a  general  statement  of  what  the  paragraph  is  to  con- 
tain. Sometimes  it  is  the  second  or  even  the  third  sentence 
in  the  paragraph,  and  in  paragraphs  of  a  certain  type  it  may 
stand  in  the  very  middle.  Only  a  certain  part  of  such  a 
sentence  may  form  the  actual  topic  portion  of  the  para- 
graph. This  is  most  often  the  case  when  the  topic  sen- 
tence is  a  long,  highly  modified  sentence.  It  is  perfectly 
easy  to  discern  the  general  nature  of  the  following  sen- 
tences : — 

(a)  Jim's  badness  exhibited  itself  in  many  ways. 

(b)  It  was  a  perfect  morning  in  the  hills. 

(c)  Mary  was  very  different  from  her  sister  Anne. 

(d)  Reaching  the  summit  of  the  Alpine  peak  after  a  whole 
day's  struggle,  we  were  amazed  at  the  majestic  panorama 
of  nature  that  stretched  inimitably  on  all  sides  of  us. 

(e)  On  entering  the  room  I  felt  a  strange  iniluence. 

Every  one  of  these  sentences  suggests  more  to  follow. 
Every  one  of  them,  though  complete  and  declarative  in  it- 
self, shows  an  insufficiency  of  information.  Every  one  of 
them  is  a  subject  or  title  or  topic  sentence  in  and  of  itself. 
To  prove  this  we  can  easily  convert  each  one  into  a  title : — 


THE   PARAGRAPH   PLAN      '  6i 

(a)  Jim's  Badness 

(b)  A  Perfect  Morning  in  the  Hills 

(c)  The  Difference  between  Mary  and  Anne 

(d)  The  View  from  the  Mountain  Top 

(e)  The  Strange  Influence  of  a  Room 

and  thus  get  at  the  very  essence  of  the  contents  of  our  para- 
graph. The  words  culled  out  of  the  topic  sentences  above 
in  order  to  get  a  definite  title  for  each  one  are  called  key- 
words. These  are  the  words  with  which  we  must  concern 
ourselves  immediately  when  we  come  to  develop  our  para- 
graph from  the  topic  sentence.  It  is  well  to  underline  them 
in  our  sentences  in  order  better  to  concentrate  upon  them, 
and  in  order  to  prevent  our  wandering  from  the  subject. 
Particularly  is  this  true  in  a  long  topic  sentence,  such  as 
(d),  only  a  small  part  of  which  is  topic  in  its  nature.  The 
actual  topic  portion  of  (d)  commences  with  the  word 
''we"  and  concludes  with  the  word  ''nature'',  the  other 
parts  of  the  sentence  being  merely  modifiers  of  this  central 
idea. 

The  conclusion  of  a  paragraph  we  call  the  summary 
SENTENCE  of  the  paragraph.  Like  the  topic  sentence  it 
has  an  atmosphere  of  its  own,  something  within  it  that  sug- 
gests its  summarizing  nature ;  so  that,  as  a  rule,  we  can  tell 
by  reading  it  that  it  is  a  concluding  element.  Frequently 
we  shall  find  it  beginning  with  such  words  or  phrases  as, 
"in  short",  "therefore",  "as  a  result",  "consequently",  etc., 
all  of  which  suggest  endings  or  conclusions  to  us.  The  fol- 
lowing are  good  illustrations  of  summary  sentences : — 

(a)  I  think  you  will  agree  then  that  Mr.  B.  should  be  elected. 

(b)  In  short  we  were  all  as  eager  for  the  return  as  we  had 
been  for  the  start. 

(c)  The  whole  picture  indeed  was  calculated  to  give  one  the 
impression  of  horror. 


62  '    COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

(d)  Whether  it  was  one  of  these  things,  or  whether  it  was  all 
of  them  combined  that  produced  such  ill  effects  upon  me,  I 
cannot  say. 

(e)  John  therefore  decided  that  he  had  better  remain  at  home. 

We  will  notice  that  in  these  summary  sentences  we  also 
have  KEY-WORDS, — words,  that  is,  that  seem  to  infer  that 
some  explanation  has  gone  before.  We  could  have  seen 
these  words  at  once  had  our  attention  not  been  called  to 
them  by  the  italics.  We  must  notice  also  in  passing  that, 
were  these  suggestive  words  omitted,  we  should  have  left 
sentences  that  might  almost  as  well  be  used  for  topic  sen- 
tences as  for  summaries.  Indeed,  (c)  as  it  stands  above 
is  really  either  topic  or  summary.  Let  us  see  how  the 
sentences  will  read  when  the  words  that  suggest  the  sum- 
mary characteristic  are  omitted  : — 

(a)  I  think  you  will  agree  that  Mr.  B.  should  be  elected. 

(b)  We  were  all  as  eager  for  the  return  as  we  had  been  for 
the  start. 

(c)  The  whole  picture  was  calculated  to  give  one  the  impres- 
sion of  horror. 

(d)  Whether  it  was  one  thing  or  all  the  things  combined  that 
produced  ill  effects  upon  me,  I  cannot  say. 

(e)  John  decided  that  he  had  better  remain  at  home. 

Here,  by  means  of  very  slight  changes,  by  way  of  omis- 
sions, we  have  converted  the  summary  sentences  into  topic 
sentences.  By  the  insertion  of  a  single  word  or  a  short 
phrase  we  may  likewise  convert  most  of  our  topic  sentences 
into  summary  sentences. 

This  interchangeableness  of  topic  and  summary  sentences 
confronts  us  with  the  fact  that  it  may  be  useless  repetition 
to  have  both  kinds  in  a  single  paragraph.  In  most  cases 
one  such  general  sentence  is  quite  sufficient  for  the  average 


THE    PARAGRAPH    PLAN  63 

paragraph.  If  we  work  consistently  from  a  good  topic 
sentence,  or  toward  a  good  summary  sentence,  our  para- 
graph will  probably  be  clear,  concise,  and  adherent.  By 
having  both  topic  and  summary  sentences  in  our  paragraph 
we  may  procure  for  it  emphasis  and  finish,  and  these  are 
two  important  elements.  We  shall  be  far  more  emphatic 
if  we  accent  our  subject  both  at  the  beginning  and  at  the 
end;  and  we  shall  perhaps  give  a  certain  rounded  finish  or 
completion  or  "frame''  to  our  paragraph  by  referring  to 
our  subject  both  at  the  beginning  and  at  the  end.  If  we 
examine  closely  we  shall  find  that  the  best  writers  always 
have  one  or  the  other  of  these  sentences  clearly  stated,  and 
oftentimes  we  shall  find  both  in  their  paragraphs.  It  is 
evident  of  course  that,  in  long  paragraphs,  where  the 
thought  is  more  or  less  involved,  and  where  the  open- 
ing of  the  paragraph  may  be  forgotten  before  the  end  is 
reached,  the  use  of  both  types  of  sentence  is  a  distinct  ad- 
vantage for  the  sake  of  clearness  alone. 

Let  us  now  study  the  paragraph  plan,  keeping  con- 
stantly in  mind  what  was  said  in  chapter  one  about  plan- 
ning in  general.  We  must  not  presume  for  a  moment  that 
successful  writers  go  about  their  work  paragraph  by  para- 
graph in  this  mechanical  way.  On  the  contrary  they  can 
write  or  dictate  paragraphs  fluently,  knowing  that  they  will 
be  coherent,  because  they  have  acquired  the  habit  of  clear, 
orderly,  consecutive  thinking. 

If  we  are  going  to  develop  our  paragraph  from  a  topic 
sentence,  we  should  first  write  the  sentence,  initialing  it 
T.  S.,  and  then  briefly  and  uniformly  write  down  the  points 
we  mean  to  make  in  the  paragraph.  If  we  develop  our 
paragraph  toward  a  summary  sentence,  we  should  make 
the  plan  first  and  write  the  summary  sentence  at  the  end, 
initialing  it  S.  S.    To  illustrate : — 


64  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

T.  S.    The  city  was  in  gala  array  for  the  great  celebration. 

1.  Flags 

2.  Flowers 

3.  Stands 

4.  Arches 

5.  Pillars 

6.  Illumination 
or 

1.  Flags 

2.  Flowers 

3.  Stands 

4.  Arches 

5.  Pillars 

6.  Illumination 

S.  S.     There  could  be  no  doubt  whatever  but  that  the  city 
was  in  gala  array  for  the  great  celebration. 

Now  we  have  the  whole  plan  clearly  and  definitely  be- 
fore us  and  we  cannot  possibly  go  wrong  in  writing  our 
paragraph  unless  our  plan  be  wrong.  There  is  not  a  single 
major  topic  in  our  plan  but  refers  to  the  key-words  of  our 
topic  or  summary  sentence.  The  words  of  these  topics  we 
call  ECHO-WORDS.  They  echo  or  repeat  the  idea  contained 
in  the  key-words.  They  are  specific;  the  key-words  are 
generic.  The  key-word  is  equivalent  to  the  total  number 
of  echo  words,  if  we  are  careful  to  get  the  proper  adjust- 
ment between  them.  Yet  there  should  be  no  tiresome  repe- 
tition. We  must  not  repeat  the  key-word,  but,  rather,  give 
additional  detailed  information  about  it.  '*Gala  Array''= 
Flags  +  Flowers  +  Stands  +  etc.  This  is  our  paragraph 
equation.    We  will  now  solve  the  problem : 

The  city  was  in  gala  array  for  the  great  celebration.  All  the 
principal  streets  were  decorated  with  multitudinous  flags.  Gi- 
gantic ''Stars  and  Stripes"  were  suspended  between  opposite  build- 
ings, and  hoisted  on  the  flag-staffs  of  the  great  offices  and  of  the 


THE   PARAGRAPH    PLAN  65 

houses  of  the  rich.  Even  the  smallest  window  showed  its  symbol 
of  our  national  greatness  in  the  public  rejoicing.  The  "Union 
Jack''  of  England,  the  Tricolor  of  our  great  sister  Republic  of 
France,  the  emblems  of  Germany,  Russia,  and  Italy,  and  the 
''Rising  Sun"  of  Japan,  all  helped  in  the  dazzling  splendor. 
Wreaths  and  decorative  symbols  of  real  flowers  were  displayed  on 
many  houses.  Garlands  of  paper  flowers  hung  from  balconies  and 
porticoes,  and  were  wound  around  the  door-posts  of  the  dwellings 
of  the  more  enthusiastic.  At  the  corners  of  the  streets  and  other 
points  of  vantage,  stands  were  erected,  where  people  might  sit  and 
watch  the  procession.  Here  and  there  triumphal  arches  were 
constructed,  some  of  them  in  new  and  fantastic  designs,  decorated 
with  corn,  flowers,  and  the  branches  of  trees.  Along  the  side- 
walks, leading  in  either  direction  from  these  arches,  were  placed 
many  huge  pillars,  connected  by  festoons  and  eloquent  with  the 
streamers  of  many  colored  ribbons  that  floated  in  the  breeze  from 
their  lofty  pinnacles.  At  night  the  whole  was  brilliantly  illu- 
minated. Red  and  blue  and  yellow  electric  bulbs  formed  an  arena 
of  glory  in  the  main  street;  and  many  buildings  were  gracefully 
outlined  with  these  magic  lights  or  surmounted  by  some  attract- 
ive and  appropriate  electric  symbol. 

Or  again,  let  us  examine  the  following : — 

I.     The  Fair 

I.  A  great  event 
n.     The  Club 

1.  Ten  fellows 

2.  All-day  attendance 
in.    John's  School  Report 

I.  Failures 
IV.    The  Whipping 

I.  John's  father 
V.    John's  Debate  with  Himself 
S.  S.     After  much  meditation  however  John  bravely  decided 
that  it  would  be  better  for  him  not  to  accompany  the  fellows  on 
their  day's  outing  to  the  fair. 

It  was  the  great  day  of  the  great  fair !    There  were  races,  "flip- 
flap",   "whoop-la",    electric    horses,    "witching-waves",    a    water 


66  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

chute,  and  a  "Wild  West  show''.  The  whole  country-side  would 
doubtless  attend,  to  make  the  occasion  memorable  for  enjoyment. 
The  club  to  which  John  belonged  had  arranged  an  excursion  there 
for  the  whole  day,  and  they  clamored  for  all  their  members  to 
go.  John  was  in  a  dilemma !  His  last  school  report  had  been 
a  record  of  failure  and  disgrace.  His  work  had  been  poor,  and 
his  conduct  lazy  and  disorderly,  his  form-master  said.  This  had 
displeased  his  father,  and  John  had  felt  the  weight  of  this  pa- 
ternal displeasure  through  the  agency  of  a  stout  cane.  He  smarted 
at  the  memory,  as  he  debated  with  himself  the  rival  claims  of 
the  excursion  and  his  work  at  school.  After  much  meditation  how- 
ever he  decided  it  would  be  better  for  him  not  to  accompany  the 
fellows  on  their  day's  outing  to  the  fair. 

If  now  we  study  these  paragraphs  carefully  we  shall  see 
that  each  sentence  contains  an  echo-word  or  words  referring 
directly  back  to  the  key-word  or  words  in  the  topic  sentence, 
or  directly  forward,  as  the  case  may  be,  to  the  key-word 
in  the  summary  sentence.  In  some  sentences  we  find  many 
echo  words  and  our  account  has  been  enriched  as  a  conse- 
quence. This  has  kept  the  one  idea  of  the  paragraph  ever 
foremost  and  has  therefore  given  unity  to  it.  Again,  while 
the  paragraphs  have  sequence  and  proportion  and  adherence, 
the  idea  of  each  sentence  fits  closely,  is  accurately  related, 
to  what  goes  before  and  to  what  follows.  We  call  this 
perfect  dovetailing  of  ideas  coherence.  We  shall  see  later 
(Chapter  IX)  that  unity  and  coherence  apply  to  the  whole 
composition  quite  as  much  as  to  the  paragraph,  which  is  a 
composition  in  miniature.  Had  it  not  been  for  our  plans, 
however,  these  qualities  might  not  have  been  so  clearly  evi- 
denced. We  might  have  wandered  far  away  from  our  sub- 
ject in  each  case.  Our  plan  has  held  us  to  our  original  idea, 
and  has  helped  us  to  attain  those  elements  of  writing  that 
must  always  be  acquired  before  we  can  become  effective 
writers. 


THE   PARAGRAPH    PLAN  dy 

We  shall  be  inclined  to  believe  perhaps  that  we  should 
have  a  topic  in  our  paragraph  plan  for  every  sentence  in 
our  paragraph,  just  as  we  thought  we  should  have  a  para- 
graph in  our  composition  for  every  major  topic  in  our 
composition  plan.  This  may  be  a  good  method  to  follow, 
but  it  is  not  a  necessary  one.  Some  points  in  our  plan,  par- 
ticularly those  that  are  followed  by  subordinate  topics,  may 
require  two  or  three  sentences  for  their  development.  In 
other  cases  it  may  be  possible  to  combine  twO'  points  in  a 
single  sentence.  So  much  depends  upon  the  individual 
problem  that  no  hard  and  fast  direction  can  be  given.  We 
may  say,  however,  that,  as  a  rule,  each  point  should  be  a 
sort  of  lesser  key-word,  an  echo-word,  if  possible,  and  that 
at  least  one  whole  sentence  should  be  given  to  its  develop- 
ment, or  the  idea  for  which  it  stands  should  be  repeated  in 
other  words  within  the  same  sentence.  The  illustrations  in 
this  chapter  should  be  tested  in  this  connection. 

If  now  we  can  determine  beforehand  exactly  how  many 
paragraphs  it  will  be  well  for  us  to  include  in  our  composi- 
tion, we  can  make  our  work  far  less  difficult  by  outlining 
these  paragraphs  consecutively  into  a  Paragraph-composi- 
tion outline.  We  have  seen  that  the  paragraph  plan  con- 
sists of  either  topic  or  summary  sentence  (or  both)  with 
the  points  to  be  contained  in  it  jotted  down  in  order.  In- 
stead of  doing  this  for  an  isolated  paragraph  (as  in  the 
illustrations  above)  we  will  now  do  it  for  a  number  of  para- 
graphs which  have  a  logical  connection  with  each  other. 
Suppose  we  are  to  write  a  composition  on  *'Our  City  Con- 
veyances".   Instead  of  planning  it  thus : — 

I.     The  Various  Kinds 

1.  Cars 

2.  Omnibuses 

3.  Carriages 


68  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

II.     Cars 

1.  Surface 

2.  Elevated 

3.  Underground 

III.  Omnibuses 

1.  Horse 

2.  Electric 

IV.  Carriages 

1.  Hansoms 

2.  Four-wheelers 

3.  Taxi-cabs 

we  might  arrange  it  as  follows : — 

I.     T.  S. — Travelers  in  and  about  the  city  have  their  choice 
among  various  kinds  of  conveyances. 

1.  Cars 

2.  Omnibuses 

3.  Carriages 

II.     T.  S. — Perhaps  the  most  popular  of  these  means  of  tran- 
sit is  the  railway  car. 

1.  Surface 

2.  Elevated 

3.  Underground 

III.  T.  S. — There  are  in  addition  several  "bus"  lines  in  the 
city  which  facilitate  travel  for  those  who  desire  to  go 
in  irregular  routes. 

1.  Horse 

2.  Electric 

IV.  T.  S. — Many  carriages  ply  here  and  there  all  day  and  all 
night,  and,  though  the  most  expensive  means  of  travel, 
they  are  the  quickest  and  most  comfortable. 

1.  Hansoms 

2.  Four-wheelers 

3.  Taxi-cabs 

Or,  instead  of  writing  regularly  our  topic  sentences  with 
their  points,  we  might  sometimes  vary  the  plan  by  leading 


THE   PARAGRAPH    PLAN  69 

into  the  summary  sentence.  Particularly  would  this  be  a 
good  idea  for  our  last  paragraph  because  there  in  all  proba- 
bility we  wish  to  close  our  composition  with  an  emphatic 
and  ^'finished''  conclusion. 

We  see  of  course  that  this  paragraph-composition  out- 
line has  what  we  may  call  a  topic  paragraph.  The  first 
paragraph  is  obviously  intended  to  be  an  introductory  sec- 
tion, which  will  contain  an  enumeration  of  the  different 
kinds  of  conveyances  with  slight  descriptions,  perhaps,  of 
each  one.  Then,  in  succession,  each  one  will  be  taken  up 
and  discussed  more  fully.  This  arrangement,  like  the  inter- 
change of  topic  and  summary  sentence,  might  very  easily 
be  reversed;  that  is,  we  might  just  as  properly  commence 
our  composition  immediately  with  a  paragraph  about  cars 
and  close  with  a  concluding  or  summary  paragraph,  review- 
ing all  that  has  preceded  and  commenting  generally  upon 
the  number  of  conveyances,  their  comparative  merits,  uses, 
etc.  Of  course,  as  has  been  previously  intimated,  it  may 
happen  that  we  shall  need  neither  topic  nor  summary  para- 
graph, neither  introduction  nor  conclusion;  on  the  other 
hand  we  may  need  to  have  both  for  purposes  of  emphasis 
and  clearness. 

The  question  of  paragraph  subordination  may  also  arise 
in  our  consideration  of  the  paragraph-composition  plan;" 
that  is,  it  may  be  necessary  to  write  paragraphs  subordinate 
to  other  paragraphs.  In  our  plan,  for  instance,  it  is  con- 
ceivable that  topic  II  might  be  divided  into  three  para- 
graphs,— one  treating  of  surface  cars ;  one  of  elevated,  and 
one  of  underground.  If  this  plan  be  followed,  we  should 
subordinate  in  the  regular  way,  writing  our  topic  or  sum- 
mary sentence  for  each  minor  paragraph.  The  major  topic 
sentence  will  then  have  the  value  of  a  general  sentence  for 
all  three  paragraphs,  but  in  writing  the  composition  we 


70  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

should  place  it  at  the  beginning  of  the  first  minor  paragraph, 
forcing  the  topic  sentence  for  the  first  minor  paragraph 
into  second  place.  Point  number  II  might  according  to  this 
arrangement  be  elaborated  as  follows : — 

II.     Major  T.  S. — Perhaps  the  most  popular  of  these  means  of 
^  transit  is  the   railway  car, — surface,   elevated   or  under- 

ground. 

1.  Minor  T.   S. — Of  these,  the   surface  cars  are   the  most 

convenient,  though  the  least  rapid. 

1.  Cars 

2.  Fares 

3.  Lines 

4.  Delays 

2.  Minor    T.    S. — The    elevated    service,    being    above    the 

street,  is  more  rapid  though  less  generally  used. 

1.  Cars 

2.  Fares 

3.  Entrance  and  Exit 

4.  Service 

5.  Accident 

6.  Lines 

3.  Minor  T.  S. — The  most  recently  completed  and  perhaps 

the    most    satisfactory    railway    service    is    the    under- 
ground. 

1.  Cars 

2.  Fares 

3.  Entrance  and  exit 

4.  Service 

5.  Accident 

6.  Lines  1 

There  are  various  methods  of  developing  the  topic  and 
summary  sentences  of  a  paragraph,  and  a  knowledge  of 
these  methods  is  necessary  for  us  in  the  planning  of  our 
paragraphs.  If  for  instance  we  are  eager  to  teach  something 
thoroughly,  to  "drive  home''  an  idea  with  more  than  usual 
force  in  a  paragraph,  we  will  accent  that  idea  throughout. 


THE    PARAGRAPH    PLAN  71 

We  may  do  this  by  way  of  repetition,  by  way  of  reproof, 
by  means  of  restatement,  or  by  any  other  means  of  securing 
emphasis.  Whatever  be  our  method  of  accentuation,  our 
object  is  ever  to  be  thorough  in  the  message  we  make  our 
paragraph  convey,  and  we  therefore  call  this  type  of  devel- 
opment paragraphing  by  thoroughness.  Let  us  take  for 
an  illustration  of  this  style  of  paragraph  the  following: — 

T.  S.     You  deserved  to  be  whipped  for  going  there. 

1.  You  should  have  knov^n  better 

2.  You  had  the  benefit  of  seeing  others 

3.  You  had  work  to  do 

4.  You  were  told  not  to  go 

or 

1.  A  cruel  President 

2.  An  extravagant  administration 
^           3.  A  dissatisfied  people 

4.  A  low  standard  of  morality 

5.  Little  money 

6.  Much  unhappiness 

S.  S.  In  short  the  crisis  in  the  bad  times  of  the  country 
seemed  to  be  at  hand. 

or 

What  nobler  work?  How  could  the  Church  of  God  be  more 
gloriously  propagated?  How  could  higher  merit  be  obtained  by 
faithful  Catholics?  It  must  succeed.  Spain  was  invincible  in  val- 
or, inexhaustible  in  wealth.  Heaven  itself  offered  them  an  oppor- 
tunity. They  had  nothing  now  to  fear  from  the  Turk,  for  they 
had  concluded  a  truce  with  him;  nothing  from  the  French,  for 
they  were  embroiled  in  civil  war.  The  heavens  themselves  had 
called  upon  Spain  to  fulfil  her  heavenly  mission,  and  restore  to 
the  Church's  crown  this  brightest  and  richest  of  her  lost  jewels. 
The  heavens  themselves  called  to  a  new  crusade.  The  saints, 
whose  altars  the  English  had  rifled  and  profaned,  called  them  to 
a  new  crusade.     The  Virgin  Queen  of  Heaven,  whose  boundless 


^2  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

stores  of  grace  the  English  spurned,  called  them  to  a  new  crusade. 
Justly  incensed  at  her  own  wrongs  and  indignities,  that  "ever- 
gracious  Virgin,  refuge  of  sinners,  and  mother  of  fair  love,  and 
holy  hope,"  adjured  by  their  knightly  honor  all  valiant  cavaliers 
to  do  battle  in  her  cause  against  the  impious  harlot  who  assumed 
her  titles,  received  from  her  idolatrous  flatterers  the  homage  due 
to  Mary  alone,  and  even  (for  Father  Parsons  had  asserted  it, 
therefore  it  must  be  true)  had  caused  her  name  to  be  substituted 
for  that  of  Mary  in  the  Litanies  of  the  Church.  Let  all  who 
wore  within  a  manly  heart,  without  a  manly  sword,  look  on  the 
woes  of  "Mary" — her  shame,  her  tears,  her  blushes,  her  heart 
pierced  through  with  daily  wounds,  from  heretic  tongues,  and 
choose  between  her  and  Elizabeth. — From  Charles  Kingsley's 
Westward  Ho! 

In  all  of  these  examples  we  have  the  matter  under  dis- 
cussion clearly  brought  to .  light  by  means  of  a  thorough 
surrounding  of  the  subject.  It  is  restated  and  repeated  in 
every  possible  way.  Paragraphs  developed  by  thorough- 
ness are  usually  expository  or  argumentative  in  their  nature. 

Sometimes  it  may  be  necessary  to  enumerate  in  a  para- 
graph a  series  of  occurrences  in  order  to  satisfy  the  demands 
of  the  topic  or  the  summary  sentence.  When  this  is  so  we 
proceed  to  paragraph  by  occurrences.  We  set  forth  in  suc- 
cessive sentences  the  particular  happenings  or  instances  or 
actions  or  occurrences  which  elucidate  the  subject.  It  is 
well  in  our  topic  to  include  some  sort  of  action  word  de- 
noting, as  it  will,  an  occurrence.  Such  paragraphs  are 
usually  narrative,  in  method  at  least,  though  in  purpose  they 
may  be  descriptive  or  expository.  To  develop  such  a  topic 
sentence  for  instance  as, 

Jim  is  a  very  bad  fellow, 

we  may  give  occurrences  in  Jim's  life  that  illustrate  his 
badness,  and  yet  our  purpose  may  be  to  sketch  Jim's  char- 


THE   PARAGRAPH   PLAN  73 

acter.     Let  us  develop  this  and  examine   two   other  ex- 
amples : — 

T.  S. — ^Jim  is  a  very  bad  fellow. 

1.  He  teases  the  cat 

2.  He  forges  marks  on  his  report* 

3.  He  plays  hookey 

4.  He  is  very  tricky 


or 


1.  Chasing  the  pack 

2.  Taking  the  fences 

3.  Sighting  the  deer 

4.  Bringing   down  the  game. 

S.  S. — Indeed,  the   Colonel  pictured  to  us  every  phase  of 
his  interesting  hunt. 


or 


The  light  was  declining:  already  the  candles  shone  through 
many  windows  of  the  Manor.  Already  the  foremost  part  of  the 
crowd  had  burst  into  the  offices,  and  adroit  men  were  busy  in  the 
right  places  to  find  plate,  after  setting  others  to  force  the  butler 
into  unlocking  the  cellars;  and  Felix  had  only  just  been  able  to 
force  his  way  on  to  the  front  terrace,  with  the  hope  of  getting 
to  the  rooms  where  he  would  find  the  ladies  of  the  household  and 
comfort  them  with  the  assurance  that  rescue  must  soon  come, 
when  the  sound  of  horses'  feet  convinced  him  that  the  rescue  was 
nearer  than  he  had  expected.  Just  as  he  heard  the  horses,  he  had 
approached  the  large  window  of  a  room,  where  a  brilliant  Hght 
suspended  from  the  ceiling  showed  him  a  group  of  women  cling- 
ing together  in  terror.  Others  of  the  crowd  were  pushing  their 
way  up  the  terrace-steps  and  gravel-slopes  at  various  points.  Hear- 
ing the  horses,  he  kept  his  post  in  front  of  the  window,  and,  mo- 
tioning with  his  saber,  cried  out  to  the  on-comers,  ''Keep  back !  I 
hear  the  soldiers  coming.''  Some  scrambled  back,  some  paused 
automatically. — From  George  Eliot's  Felix  Holt, 

If  we  say,  "It  is  a  beautiful  morning' V  we  imply  that 
there  are  many  particulars  about  the  morning  v^hich  make 


74  COMPOSITION   PLANNING   . 

it  beautiful.  At  any  rate  "beautiful''  is  our  key-word  and 
we  need  to  particularize  in  order  to  prove  that  the  morning 
is  beautiful.  Thus,  we  shall  be  paragraphing  by  particu- 
lars. Usually  such  paragraphs  are  descriptive  or  expository 
in  nature  and  the  word  or  the  phrasal  plan  is  used  in  out- 
lining them.  The  following  illustrates  this  type  of  para- 
graph development : 

T.  S. — It  is  a  beautiful  morning. 

1.  Sunshine 

2.  Clear  atmosphere 

3.  Moderate  warmth 

4.  Rich  verdure 

5.  Singing  birds 


or 


1.  Low  ceilings 

2.  Many  steps 

3.  Damp  walls 

4.  Small  windows 

5.  Dark  rooms 

S.  S. — Considering  all  these  shortcomings,  we  decided  that 
we  could  never  like  the  old  mansion. 


or 


When,  issuing  from  the  gorge  of  a  pass  which  terminated  upon 
the  lake,  the  travellers  came  in  sight  of  the  ancient  Castle  of 
Avenel,  the  old  man  paused,  and,  resting  upon  his  pilgrim  staff, 
looked  with  earnest  attention  upon  the  scene  before  him.  The 
castle  was,  as  we  have  said,  in  many  places  ruinous,  as  was  evi- 
dent, even  at  this  distance,  by  the  broken,  rugged,  and  irregular 
outline  of  the  walls  and  of  the  towers.  In  others  it  seemed  more 
entire,  and  a  pillar  of  dark  smoke,  which  ascended  from  the  chim- 
neys of  the  donjon,  and  spread  its  long  dusky  pennon  through 
the  clear  ether,  indicated  that  it  was  inhabited.  But  no  corn- 
fields or  enclosed  pasture-grounds  on  the  side  of  the  lake  showed 
that  provident  attention  to  comfort  and  subsistence  which  usually 
appeared  near  the  houses  of  the  greater,  and  even  of  the  lesser 
barons.    There  were  no  cottages  with  their  patches  of  infield,  and 


THE    PARAGRAPH    PLAN  75 

their  crofts  and  gardens,  surrounded  by  rows  of  massive  syca- 
mores; no  church  with  its  simple  tower  in  the  valley;  no  herds  of 
sheep  among  the  hills;  no  cattle  on  the  lower  ground;  nothing 
which  intimated  the  occasional  prosecution  of  the  arts  of  peace  and 
of  industry.  It  was  plain  that  the  inhabitants,  whether  few  or  nu- 
merous, must  be  considered  as  the  garrison  of  the  castle,  living 
within  its  defended  precincts,  and  subsisting  by  means  which  were 
other  than  peaceful. — From  Sir  Walter  Scott's  The  Monastery. 

Again,  our  paragraphs  may  be  developed  by  means  of 
giving  in  them  the  impressions  we  received  from  the  sub- 
ject with  which  we  are  dealing.  We  may  tell  how  a  person, 
a  place,  a  thing  impressed  or  influenced  us.  Our  topic  or 
our  summary  sentence  will  here  as  elsewhere  be  our  guide. 
Paragraphs  developed  by  impressions  are  as  a  rule  descrip- 
tive and  expository.  We  may  illustrate  this  type  as  fol- 
lows : — 

T.  S. — On  entering  the  room  I  was  conscious  of  a  strange 
and  peculiar  influence. 

1.  New 

2.  Oppressive 

3.  Stifling 

4.  Unusual 

5.  Alarming 


or 


1.  Anxiety 

2.  Fear 

3.  Nervousness 

4.  Anger 

S.   S. — I  decided  never   to  have  such  a  dog  in  my  house 
again. 


or 


Beauty,  of  course,  is  for  the  hero.  Nevertheless,  it  is  not  al- 
ways he  on  whom  beauty  works  its  most  conquering  influence.  It 
is  the  dull  commonplace  man  into  whose  slow  brain  she  drops  like 


T^  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

a  celestial  light,  and  burns  lastingly.  The  poet,  for  instance,  is  a 
connoisseur  of  beauty:  to  the  artist  she  is  a  model.  These  gen- 
tlemen by  much  contemplation  of  her  charms  wax  critical.  The 
days  when  they  had  hearts  being  gone,  they  are  haply  divided  be- 
tween the  blonde  and  the  brunette ;  the  aquiline  nose  and  the  Pros- 
erpine ;  this  shaped  eye  and  that.  But  go  about  among  simple  un- 
professional fellows,  boors,  dunderheads,  and  here  and  there  you 
shall  find  some  barbarous  intelligence  which  has  had  just  strength 
enough  to  conceive,  and  has  taken  Beauty  as  its  Goddess,  and 
knows  but  one  form  to  worship,  in  its  poor  stupid  fashion,  and 
would  perish  for  her.  Nay,  more:  the  man  would  devote  all  his 
days  to  her  though  he  is  dumb  as  a  dog.  And,  indeed,  he  is 
Beauty's  Dog.  Almost  every  Beauty  has  her  Dog.  The  hero  pos- 
sesses her;  the  poet  proclaims  her;  the  painter  puts  her  upon  can- 
vas ;  and  the  faithful  Old  Dog  follows  her :  and  the  end  of  it  all  is 
that  the  faithful  Old  Dog  is  her  single  attendant.  Sir  Hero  is 
reveling  in  the  wars,  or  in  Armida's  bowers ;  Mr.  Poet  has  spied  a 
wrinkle ;  the  brush  is  for  the  rose  in  its  season.  She  turns  to  her 
Old  Dog  then.  She  hugs  him ;  and  he,  who  has  subsisted  on  a 
bone  and  a  pat  till  there  he  squats  decrepit,  he  turns  his  grateful 
old  eyes  up  to  her,  and  has  not  a  notion  that  she  is  hugging  sad 
memories  in  him :  Hero,  Poet,  Painter,  in  one  scrubby  one !  Then 
is  she  buried,  and  the  village  heafs  languid  howls,  and  there  is  a 
paragraph  in  the  newspapers  concerning  the  extraordinary  fidelity 
of  an  Old  Dog. — From  George  Meredith's  The  Ordeal  of  Richard 
FevereL 


Lastly,  we  must  examine  a  little  the  paragraph  of  con- 
trast,— a  paragraph  in  which  two  or  more  persons,  scenes, 
or  objects  are  compared  or  contrasted.  In  such  paragraphs, 
particularly  where  only  two  things  are  contrasted,  the  topic 
sentence  may  stand  in  the  very  middle  of  the  paragraph, 
the  first  part  being  devoted  to  a  discussion  of  the  one;  the 
second  part,  to  a  discussion  of  the  other.  Thus,  if  we  were 
writing  a  paragraph  contrast  of  Rebecca  and  Rowena,  the 
two  heroines  in  Scott's  Ivanhoe,  we  might  plan  it  as  fol- 
lows : — 


THE   PARAGRAPH   PLAN  tj 

I.  Rebecca 

1.  Dark 

2.  Courageous 

3.  Uncompromising 

T.  S. — Whereas,  her  sister-character  in  the  great  story  is 
quite  the  opposite. 

II.  Rowena 

1.  Light 

2.  Passive 

3.  Yielding 

The  topic  sentence  may  also  here,  as  in  the  other  types 
of  paragraph,  stand  at  the  beginning.  The  development 
may  then  be  made  by  alternating  sentences,  the  first  deal- 
ing with  the  first  member  of  the  contrast ;  the  second,  with 
the  other,  and  so  forth. 

T.  S. — Rebecca  and  Rowena  differed  widely  in  appearance  and 
character. 

I.  Appearance 

1.  Rebecca,  dark 

2.  Rowena,  light 

3.  Rebecca,  Jewish  type 

4.  Rowena,  Saxon  type 

II.  Character 

1.  Rebecca,  courageous 

2.  Rowena,  resigned 

3.  Rebecca,  uncompromising 

4.  Rowena,  yielding 

Or  here,  as  in  our  former  examples,  the  development  may 
lead  into  a  summary  sentence.  The  following  paragraph 
further  illustrates  this  type : — 

Somerset  mounted  at  once  to  the  first  story,  and  opened  the 
door  of  the  drawing-room,  which  was  brilliantly  lit  by  several 
lamps.    It  was  a  great  apartment ;  looking  on  the  square  with  three 


78  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

tall  windows,  and  joined  by  a  pair  of  ample  folding-doors  to  the 
next  room ;  elegant  in  proportion,  papered  in  sea-green,  furnished 
in  velvet  of  a  delicate  blue,  and  adorned  with  a  majestic  mantel- 
piece of  variously  tinted  marbles.  Such  was  the  room  that  Som- 
erset remembered;  that  which  he  now  beheld  was  changed  in  al- 
most every  feature:  the  furniture  covered  with  a  figured  chintz; 
the  walls  hung  with  a  rhubarb-colored  paper,  and  diversified  by 
the  curtained  recesses  for  no  less  than  seven  windows.  It  seemed 
to  himself  that  he  must  have  entered,  without  observing  the  transi- 
tion, into  the  adjoining  house.  Presently  from  these  more  specious 
changes,  his  eye  condescended  to  the  many  curious  objects  with 
which  the  floor  was  littered.  Here  were  the  locks  of  dismounted 
pistols;  clocks  and  clockwork  in  every  stage  of  demolition,  some 
still  busily  ticking,  some  reduced  to  their  dainty  elements ;  a  great 
company  of  carboys,  jars  and  bottles;  a  carpenter's  bench  and 
a  laboratory-table. — From  Robert  Louis  Stevenson's  The  Dyna- 
miter. 

These  five  methods  of  paragraph  development  can  very 
easily  be  "clinched"  in  our  memory  by  enumerating  them 
under  one  another  in  the  order  in  which  they  have  been 
discussed  and  noting-  the  acrostic  v^ord, — 

Thoroughness 

Occurrences 

Particulars 

Impressions 

Contrasts 

We  observe  that  the  initial  letters  spell  'TOPIC',  remind- 
ing us  very  properly  of  the  fact  that  all  our  paragraphs, 
whatever  their  nature,  are  bred  of  a  topic  sentence,  or  its 
equivalent. 

Now  it  must  not  be  understood  that  these  types  of  para- 
graph development  stand  separately  and  distinctly  alone. 
Many  of  the  examples  quoted  above  prove  to  us  quite  the 
contrary.     We  name  a  paragraph   development  from  the 


THE    PARAGRAPH    PLAN  79 

predominant  quality  of  the  material  used  in  its  development. 
A  paragraph  that  is  developed  by  means  of  particulars  v^ill 
consist  mostly  of  particulars  about  its  subject  or  key-word, 
but  it  may  also  contain  occurrences  and  impressions  and  the 
other  elements  in  a  subordinate  place.  The  same  is  true  of 
a  paragraph  developed  by  thoroughness  or  contrast  or  any 
of  the  other  methods.  It  may  have  other, — many  other — 
elements  in  it,  but  they  must  be  kept  subordinate  to  the  type 
that  is  being  followed.  And  this  major  type  will  always 
be  decided  for  us  of  course  by  the  topic  sentence.  It  will 
tell  us  what  kind  of  development  it  ''wants''.  If,  however, 
cases  arise  where  we  think  that  either  of  two  methods  may 
be  used  with  equally  good  results,  then  we  should  select  the 
one  that  we  think  we  can  handle  the  better;  or  we  may 
combine  two  or  three  methods  in  equal  proportions  in  order 
to  secure  a  more  perfect  development  of  our  subject.  When 
this  combination  is  made,  we  have  what  is  known  as  the 
composite  paragraph.  In  the  first  paragraph  of  Dickens' 
A  Tale  of  Two  Cities,  which  is  quoted  below,  we  can  see  an 
excellent  example  of  this  composite  type  of  paragraph.  He 
has  most  skillfully  and  therefore  most  readably  employed  at 
least  three  methods  of  paragraph  development — particulars, 
impressions,  and  contrasts — in  giving  us  a  picture  of  the 

period : 

• 

It  was  the  best  of  times,  it  was  the  worst  of  times,  it  was  the 
age  of  wisdom,  it  was  the  age  of  foolishness,  it  was  the  epoch  of 
belief,  it  was  the  epoch  of  incredulity,  it  was  the  season  of  Light, 
it  was  the  season  of  Darkness,  it  was  the  spring  of  hope,  it  was  the 
winter  of  despair,  we  had  everything  before  us,  we  had  nothing 
before  us,  we  were  all  going  direct  to  Heaven,  we  were  all  going 
direct  the  other  way, — in  short,  the  period  was  so  far  like  the 
present  period,  that  some  of  its  noisiest  authorities  insisted  on  its 
being  received,  for  good  or  for  evil,  in  the  superlative  degree  of 
comparison  only. 


8o  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 


EXERCISE 

I.  Write  out  the  paragraphs  for  the  illustrative 
paragraph  plans  that  are  presented  in  this  chapter.  Follow 
the  plan  closely  in  each  case,  and  confine  yourself  to  the 
method  of  development  v^hich  the  plan  illustrates. 

II.  Plan  and  write  paragraphs  from  the  following 
topic  sentences : 

1.  I  like  skating  better  than  sledding. 

2.  Jim  is  a  most  peculiar  chap. 

3.  They  had  a  good  time  at  the  party. 

4.  It  was  the  most  wonderful  trick  I  ever  saw. 

5.  John  was  scared  when  he  came  into  the  room. 

6.  There  are  three  or  four  different  kinds  of  sleds. 

7.  He  made  us  all  feel  rather  queer. 

8.  Tricks  should  always  be  tempered  with  common  sense. 

9.  The  room  was  filled  with  all  sorts  of  curios. 

10.  When  it  comes  to  choosing   I'll  take  Bill  instead  of 
John  every  time. 

III.  Convert  the  above  sentences  into  summary  sen- 
tences and  plan  paragraphs  for  them.  Explain  in  a  well- 
planned,  well-written  paragraph 

a. — how  you  made  the  change  from  topic  to  summary, 
b. — how  the  change  affects  the  planning  and  the  wri- 
ting of  the  paragraph. 

IV.  Reduce  each  of  the  sentences  in  Exercise  II  to 
a  single  title. 

V.  Compose  topic  sentences  illustrative  of  the  five 
(T-O-P-I-C)  methods  of  development.  Underline  the  key- 
word of  each  and  make  a  list  of  the  following  echo-words 
you  would  use  in  writing  the  paragraph. 


THE   PARAGRAPH    PLAN  8i 

VI.  Select  from  some  good  novel  or  history  (or 
other  good  accessible  reading)  models  of  the  five  different 
types  of  paragraphs,  and  deduct  outlines  from  them. 

VII.  Select  the  topic  or  summary  sentence  of  every 
illustrative  paragraph  used  in  this  chapter  and  make  a  plan 
from  vv^hich  the  paragraph  might  have  been  constructed. 

VIII.     Plan  and  write  a  composite  paragraph  for  each 
of  the  following  sentences : — 

1.  Mary  is  too  impatient  to  get  on  with  Elizabeth. 

2.  I  was  very  much  alarmed  when  the  accident  occurred. 

3.  He  deserved  his  reproof  for  he  had  deliberately  dis- 

obeyed. 

4.  It  was  little  wonder  that  a  person  of  such   peculiar 

habits  amused  her. 

5.  Whatever  happens,  he  always  controls  himself. 

IX.     Read  the  following  sentence  carefully;  then 

1.  Plan  and  write  the  conversation  that 
probably  took  place  between  the  parties. 

2.  Plan  and  write  a  paragraph  giving  an 
account  of  the  incident,  using  little  or  no  con- 
versation. 

The  driver  of  a  street  sprinkler  drove  so  close  to  an  open 
street  car  without  turning  off  the  water,  that  the  motorman,  the 
conductor,  and  the  passengers  were  all  considerably  dampened. 

X.  Make  a  paragraph-composition  plan  for  each  of 
the  following  topics.  Have  an  introductory  or  a  conclud- 
ing paragraph,  or  both. 

a.  Our  Park 

b.  Hopewell's  Career 

c.  The  Play 

d.  Certain  Fellows  I  Know 

e.  Hockey 


82  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

XL  Make  a  paragraph-composition  plan  of  each  of 
the  following.  Indicate  by  the  plan  that  certain  paragraphs 
are  to  be  subordinate  to  others.  Indicate  also,  on  the  mar- 
gin, just  what  method  is  to  be  employed  in  developing  each 
paragraph. 

a.  The  Officers  of  Our  Club 

b.  Our  School  Teams 

c.  The  Noon  Hour 

d.  "Reddy's"  Peculiar  Manners 

e.  A  Hopeless  Situation 

XII.     Select  the  topic  sentence  in  each  of  the  follow- 
ing paragraphs  and  deduce  a  paragraph  plan  in  each  case : 

She  was  well  matched  by  her  brother,  nearly  about  her  own 
age.  He  was  tall,  vigorous,  and  well-formed,  with  a  clear  olive 
complexion,  a  dark  beaming  eye,  and  curling  chestnut  whiskers 
that  met  under  his  chin.  He  was  gallantly  dressed  in  a  short 
green  velvet  jacket,  fitted  to  his  shape,  profusely  decorated  with 
silver  buttons,  with  a  white  handkerchief  in  each  pocket.  He 
had  breeches  of  the  same,  with  rows  of  buttons  from  the  hips  to 
the  knees;  a  pink  silk  handkerchief  round  his  neck,  gathered 
through  a  ring,  on  the  bosom  of  a  neatly  plaited  shirt ;  a  sash  round 
the  waist  to  match ;  high  gaiters  of  the  finest  russet-leather,  elegantly 
worked,  and  open  at  the  calf  to  show  his  stocking;  and  russet 
shoes,  setting  off  a  well-shaped  foot. — From  Washington  Irving's 
The  Alhamhra, 

It  has  always  been  my  endeavor  to  distinguish  between  reali- 
ties and  appearances,  and  to  separate  true  merit  from  the  pre- 
tence to  it.  As  it  shall  ever  be  my  study  to  make  discoveries  of 
this  nature  in  human  life,  and  to  settle  the  proper  distinctions  be- 
tween the  virtues  and  perfections  of  mankind,  and  those  false  col- 
ors and  resemblances  of  them  that  shine  alike  in  the  eyes  of 
the  vulgar ;  so  I  shall  be  more  particularly  careful  to  search  into  the 
,  various  merits  and  pretences  of  the  learned  world.  This  is 
the  more  necessary,  because  there  seems  to  be  a  general  combina- 


THE    PARAGRAPH    PLAN  83 

tion  among  the  Pedants  to  extol  one  another's  labors,  and  cry 
up  one  another's  parts;  while  men  of  sense,  either  through  that 
modesty  which  is  natural  to  them,  or  the  scorn  they  have  for  such 
trifling  commendations,  enjoy  their  stock  of  knowledge,  like  a  hid- 
den treasure,  with  satisfaction  and  silence.  Pedantry  indeed  in 
learning  is  like  hypocrisy  in  religion,  a  form  of  knowledge  with- 
out the  power  of  it;  that  attracts  the  eyes  of  the  common  people; 
breaks  out  in  noise  and  show;  and  finds  its  reward  not  from  any 
inward  pleasure  that  attends  it,  but  from  the  praises  and  ap- 
probations which  it  receives  from  men. — From  Joseph  Addison^s 
The  Tatter, 

First  of  all,  and  principally,  I  believe,  the  strangeness  and  sin- 
gularity of  its  tones;  then  there  was  something  mysterious  and 
uncommon  associated  with  its  use.  It  was  not  a  school  language, 
to  acquire  which  was  considered  an  imperative  duty;  no,  no;  nor 
was  it  a  drawing-room  language,  drawled  out  occasionally,  in 
shreds  and  patches,  by  the  ladies  of  generals  and  other  great  dig- 
nitaries, to  the  ineffable  dismay  of  poor  officers'  wives.  Nothing 
of  the  kind ;  but  a  speech  spoken  in  out-of-the-way  desolate  places, 
and  in  cut-throat  kens,  where  thirty  ruffians,  at  the  sight  of  the 
king's  minions,  would  spring  up  with  brandished  sticks  and  an 
"ubbubboo,  like  the  blowing  up  of  a  powder  magazine."  Such 
were  the  points  connected  with  the  Irish,  which  first  awakened  in 
my  mind  the  desire  of  acquiring  it;  and  by  acquiring  it  I  became, 
as  I  have  already  said,  enamored  of  languages.  Having  learnt 
one  by  chance,  I  speedily,  as  the  reader  will  perceive,  learnt 
others,  some  of  which  were  widely  different  from  Irish. — From 
George  Borrow's  Lavengro. 

A  few  small  houses  scattered  on  either  side  of  the  road  be- 
token the  entrance  to  some  town  or  village.  The  lively  notes  of 
the  guard's  key-bugle  vibrate  in  the  clear  cold  air,  and  wake  up 
the  old  gentleman  inside,  who,  carefully  letting  down  the  window- 
sash  half  way,  and  standing  sentry  over  the  air,  takes  a  short  peep 
out,  and  then,  carefully  pulling  it  up  again,  informs  the  other  inside 
that  they're  going  to  change  directly;  on  which  the  other  inside 
wakes  himself  up  and  determines  to  postpone  his  next  nap  until 
after  the  stoppage.  Again  the  bugle  sounds  lustily  forth,  and 
rouses  the  cottager's  wife  and  children,  who  peep  out  at  the  house- 


84  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

door,  and  watch  the  coach  till  it  turns  the  corner,  when  they  once 
more  crouch  round  the  blazing  fire,  and  throw  on  another  log  of 
wood  against  father's  coming  home,  while  father  himself,  a  full  mile 
off,  has  just  exchanged  a  friendly  nod  with  the  coachman,  and 
turned  round,  to  take  a  good  long  stare  at  the  vehicle  as  it  whirls 
away. — From  Charles  Dickens'  Pickwick  Papers. 


CHAPTER   VI 

OTHER  FORMS  OF  OUTLINE 

Thus  far  in  our  study  we  have  considered  four  more  or 
less  common  types  of  plan, — The  Running  Plan,  The  Infor- 
mal Plan,  The  Formal  Plan,  and  The  Paragraph  Plan,  each 
with  its  separate  modifications.  We  have  found  these  dis- 
tinct  types,  at  the  same  time  that  we  found  many  of  them 
interchangeable  one  with  another,  and  all  capable  of  combi- 
nation to  some  extent.  We  have  in  each  case  seen  that  the 
name  selected  to  designate  the  plan  is  based  upon  some  rea- 
sonable and  inherent  principle  upon  which  the  method  of 
planning  depends.  We  come  now  to  study  other  types  of 
plans,  but  they  are  other  types  only  from  the  point  of  view 
of  the  form  of  expression  used  in  their  topics.  Usually  the 
name  will  be  taken  from  the  form  of  the  major  topics  alone. 
This  therefore  is  a  different  way  of  naming  our  plans  from 
the  one  adopted  heretofore.  We  have  been  naming  our 
outlines  in  accordance  with  some  arrangement  of  subject 
matter.  Now  we  are  going  to  name  them  according  to 
the  various  kinds  of  enumeration  we  may  use.  Any  one 
of  those  that  follow  therefore  may  belong  to  any  one  of 
those  we  have  studied.  The  Informal  Outline,  for  instance, 
may  have  its  various  topics  written  in  various  ways;  they 
may  be  words,  phrases,  clauses,  and  even  sentences.  So 
also  may  the  Formal,  the  Running,  and  the  Paragraph  Plan. 
It  is  our  purpose  now  to  classify  plans  therefore  on  this 
basis  of  topic  expression. 

8s 


86  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 


THE    TOPICAL    PLAN 

Up  to  this  time  we  have  been  using  the  word  "topic" 
in  a  somewhat  general  sense.  We  have  done  this  chiefly 
because  it  is  convenient,  in  referring  to  the  different  parts 
of  a  plan,  to  say  ''topic  no.  i",  ''topic  no.  2'',  etc.  It  is 
perfectly  allowable  so  to  use  the  word  provided  that  we  at 
the  same  time  know  that  it  has  a  more  specific  meaning  of 
its  own.  Though  we  shall  continue  to  use  it  in  this  general 
sense  with  the  meaning  of  "point'',  we  shall  now  define  its 
more  restricted  usage.  As  a  matter  of  fact  a  topical  out- 
line or  plan  is  one  that  has  for  its  various  points  single 
words  of  uniform  parts  of  speech,  or  single  words  with 
very  short  and  uniform  modifiers.  Thus  in  writing  a  para- 
graph plan  comparing  John  with  Bill  we  might  proceed  in 
this  way: — 

T.  S. — Though  John  and  Bill  were  brothers  they  were  for  the 
most  part  very  different. 

I.  John 

L  Kind 

2.  Honest 

3.  Genial 

4.  Clever 

II.  Bill 

1.  Cruel 

2.  Honest  , 

3.  Brusque 

4.  Stupid 

Here  the  characteristics  of  each  character  are  stated  in  the 
briefest  possible  manner.  The  major  points  are  nouns ;  the 
minor  points  are  consistently  adjectives;  all  are  expressed 
by  single  words.  The  plan  is  therefore  strictly  and  simply 
topical.    Our  plan  will  however  still  be  topical,  though  not 


OTHER   FORMS    OF   OUTLINE'  87 

so  strictly  so,  if  we  add  simple  modifying  words  or  phrases 
to  each  of  the  various  topics;  thus : — 

T.  S. — Though  John  and  Bill  were  brothers  they  were  for  the 
most  part  very  different. 

I.     John  a  good  friend 

1.  Very  kind 

2.  Strictly  honest 

3.  Always  genial 

4.  Extremely  clever 

11.     Bill  a  bad  enemy 

1.  Very  cruel 

2.  Perfectly  honest 

3.  Usually  brusque 

4.  Extremely  stupid 


THE     PHRASAL     PLAN 

So  much  then  for  the  Topical  Plan.  If  now  we  have 
occasion  to  extend  these  modifying  terms  into  prepositional 
or  participial  phrases,  our  plan  ceases  to  be  topical  in  the 
limited  sense  of  the  word  and  becomes  a  Phrasal  Plan. 
One  type  of  such  a  plan  might  be  as  follows : 

T.   S. — Though  John  and  Bill  were  brothers  they  were   for 
the  most  part  very  different  in  character. 

I.     John,  the  boy  for  friendship 

1.  Kind  to  everybody 

2.  Honest  in  every  way 

3.  Genial  at  all  times 

4.  Clever  at  everything 

II.     Bill,  the  boy  for  enmity 

1.  Cruel  to  everybody  and  to  everything 

2.  Honest  in  every  way 

3.  Brusque  all  the  time 

4.  Stupid  at  everything 


88  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

One  of  the  most  common  types  of  Phrasal  Plan,  however, 
is  the  one  whose  points  end  with  prepositions.  This  style 
of  outline  is  used  very  largely  in  computations,  in  mechani- 
cal description  and  exposition,  and  in  argument.  Such  a 
phrasal  plan  for  a  short  composition  on  "The  Blue-Jay", 
for  instance,  might  be  arranged  in  this  way : — 

THE  BLUE-JAY 
I.    Introduction 

I.  Habitat  of 
II.    Discussion 

1.  Size  of 

2.  Colors  of 

3.  Voice  of 

4.  Habits  of 
III.     Conclusion 

I.  Place  of,  among  other  birds 

This  plan  may  seem  incomplete  because  of  the  position  of 
the  prepositions,  but  its  meaning  is  clear.  We  should  be 
careful  not  to  permit  the  use  of  this  style  of  phrasal  plan  to 
beget  in  us  the  habit  of  using  prepositions  as  the  concluding 
words  in  our  sentences.  There  is  nothing  wrong  in  "using 
a  preposition  to  end  a  sentence  with",  but  it  is  not  wise  to 
do  so  very  often.  It  is  perfectly  clear  of  course  what  the 
object  of  the  preposition  is  in  each  case  where  it  is  used 
in  the  above  plan.  When  the  phrasal  form  of  expression 
is  followed  in  the  Formal  Plan,  the  title  is  usually  under- 
stood after  the  preposition,  as  in  the  case  of  *'The  Blue-Jay". 
When  however  it  is  used  in  the  Informal  Plan,  the  object 
of  the  concluding  preposition  should  properly  be  the  noun 
in  the  last  major  topic,  or,  indeed,  the  whole  major  topic. 
It  is  perhaps  better  therefore  to  make  use  of  the  Phrasal 
form  in  the  Informal  Plan  than  in  the  Formal,  for  the  prepo- 
sition will  then  not  be  so  far  removed  from  its  object.     Let 


OTHER    FORMS    OF    OUTLINE  89 

us  fancy,  for  instance,  a  carpenter  indicating  the  various 
proportions  and  sizes  of  the  parts  of  a  house : — 

I.    Rooms 

1.  Length  of 

2.  Breadth  of 

3.  Height  of 

IL     Windows 

1.  Frames  of 

a.  Kind  of  wood  of 

b.  Shape  of 

c.  Size  of 

2.  Glass  of 

a.  Kind  of 

b.  Various  shapes  and  sizes  of 
etc. 

Here  the  reference  is  simpler  because  not  so  far  removed. 
If  this  "rough  and  ready  plan'',  as  it  is  sometimes  called, 
were  completed  the  carpenter  could  insert  the  details  in 
actual  feet  and  inches  as  he  learned  them,  immediately  after 
the  topics  to  which  such  details  properly  belong. 

There  are  different  ways  of  placing  the  prepositions  in 
this  type  of  outline.  In  the  above  illustrations  we  have 
added  the  prepositions  to  the  subordinate  topics  and  when 
the  Formal  Plan  is  used  this  is  of  course  necessary.  Often 
it  is  necessary  also  in  the  Informal  Phrasal  Plan.  But 
there  are  many  cases  where  we  may  save  ourselves  the  need- 
less repetition  of  the  preposition  by  adding  it  simply  to 
the  major  topics  and  to  no  others : — 

THE  SPEAKER'S  BROAD  KNOWLEDGE 

I.     He  quoted  from 

1.  Tennyson 

2.  Goldsmith 

3.  Shakspere 


90  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

II.     He  described  life  in 

1.  India 

2.  Africa 

3.  Europe 

4.  South  America 

III.  He  narrated  stories  of 

1.  adventure 

2.  exploration 

3.  hunting  expeditions 

4.  conquest 

IV.  He  talked  fluently  on 

1.  business 

2.  politics 

3.  religion 

4.  art 


Still  another  variation  of  phrasal  outline  is  the  particip- 
ial or  infinitive  plan ;  that  is,  participial  or  infinitive  phrases 
are  consistently  used  instead  of  the  prepositional  phrases. 
Here  again  we  must  be  careful  to  be  systematic, — we  must 
see  to  it  that  our  topics  are  all  one  thing  or  the  other;  we 
must  not  have  some  participial  and  others  infinitive  in  the 
same  outline.    To  illustrate,  let  us  examine  the  following : — 

THE  SISTERS'  DUTIES 

I.     Visiting  the  sick 

1.  Providing  medicine 

2.  Furnishing  comforts 

3.  Cheering  them 

II.    Helping  the  needy 
I. 
2. 

3. 

etc. 


OTHER   FORMS    OF   OUTLINE  91 


III.  Pacifying  the  troubled 

I. 
2. 

3- 

etc. 

IV.  Teaching  the  children 

I. 
2. 

3- 

etc. 

V.    Asking  alms 
I. 
2. 

3- 

etc. 

or 

I.     To  visit  the  sick 

1.  To  provide  medicine 

2.  To  furnish  comforts 

3.  To  cheer 

II.     To  pacify  the  troubled 
I. 
2. 
3. 

etc. 
etc. 


Either  one  of  these  plans  is  a  good  example  of  the  phrasal 
type;  one  participial,  the  other  infinitive. 


THE    CLAUSAL    PLAN 


Again,  our  points  may  take  the  form  of  clauses,  in 
which  case  we  call  our  plan  a  Clausal  Plan.  The  same 
warning  is  necessary  here  as  has  been  given  so  many  times 
previously  in  the  book;  namely,  that  we  must  keep  our 


92  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

clausal  plan  consistently  clausal.  There  is  probably  no  bet- 
ter exercise  for  any  of  us  than  this  keeping  of  our  topics 
uniform  in  expression,  or  of  converting  one  style  of  expres- 
sion consistently  into  another.  If  practiced  patiently  it  will 
beget  in  us  the  habit  of  concise  and  correct  and  systematic 
formulation  of  our  thoughts  into  language, — to  mention  but 
one  benefit.  To  illustrate  our  clausal  plan,  let  us  take  the 
following : — 

THE  MOODS  OF  MY  DOG  PRINCE 

I.     When  he  is  sportive 

1.  he  jumps 

2.  he  bites  in  play 

3.  he  upsets  things 

4.  he  makes  many  enemies 

II.     When  he  is  hungry 

1.  he  is  impatient 

2.  he  is  voracious 

3.  he  is  jealous 

HI.     When  he  is  working 

1.  he  is  very  serious 

2.  he  is  very  loyal 

3.  he  is  very  keen 

IV.     When  he  is  angry 

1.  he  barks  fiercely 

2.  he  shoves  his  white  teeth 

3.  his  long  hair  bristles 

V.    When  he  is  sleepy  and  dull 

1.  he  growls  if  disturbed 

2.  he  stretches  elaborately 

3.  he  finds  a  warm  spot  and  lies  down 

4.  he  snores  heavily 

In  this  little  character  sketch  of  Prince  we  have  enumer- 
ated his  chief  characteristics  in  clauses.     In  the  subordi- 


OTHER  FORMS  OF  OUTLINE         93 

nate  topics  we  have  extended  the  analysis  of  each  of  these 
characteristics,  and  we  have  done  so  by  means  of  sentences. 
The  minor  topics  therefore  when  read  consecutively  with 
the  major  topics  give  us  complete  complex  sentences.  All 
of  the  topics,  however,  could  have  been  kept  in  the  clausal 
form  had  we  cared  so  to  express  them.  Or  we  could  have 
retained  the  word  *'he''  at  the  end  of  each  major  topic, 
thus : — 

III.  When  he  is  on  duty,  he 

1.  is  very  serious 

2.  is  very  loyal 

3.  is  very  keen 

On  the  other  hand  we  may  reverse  the  dependent  and  in- 
dependent clauses  if  we  so  desire.  Outlining  a  short  com- 
position on  *'My  Reasons  for  Liking  Bookkeeping'',  we 
might  very  properly  proceed  as  follows : — 

I.     It  is  interesting 

1.  because  of  up-to-date  problems 

2.  because   it   gives   one   a   sense   of  responsibility 

II.     It  is  helpful 

1.  because  it  cultivates  accuracy 

2.  because  it  trains  the  reason 

3.  because  it  explains  business  transactions 

4.  because  it  makes  one  neat  and  careful 

III.     It  is  practical 

1.  because  it  is  required  in  all  firms  however  small 

2.  because  it  applies  to  every  day  affairs  as  well  as 

to  all  others 

If  now  we  look  back  for  a  few  pages  we  will  find  that, 
among  those  outlines  where  the  major  topic  makes  continu- 
ous reading  with  the  minor  topic,  we  do  not  capitalize  the 
minor  topic.     The  reason  for  this  is  clear.     It  would  be 


94  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

absurd  to  capitalize  the  middle  word  in  a  sentence,  and 
the  first  word  of  the  minor  topic  is  just  that,  though  it  is 
written  on  the  line  below.  It  forms  consecutive  and  un- 
broken reading  with  what  has  gone  before. 

THE     SENTENCE     PLAN 

Still  another  type  of  outline,  considered  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  form  of  expression  in  the  various  headings,  is 
the  Sentence  Outline.  We  must  not  confuse  this  with  the 
paragraph-composition  outline.  There  we  planned  for  each 
paragraph  of  our  composition,  and  wrote  down  the  topic  or 
the  summary  sentence  of  each.  In  the  sentence  outline 
proper  we  select  the  leading  points  in  our  collected  material 
and  express  them  in  sentence  form.  Under  these  we  write 
the  topics  or  phrases  or  clauses  or  shorter  sentences  which 
subordinately  belong  to  each.  This  may  mean  that  two  or 
three  or  more  paragraphs  will  have  to  be  written  to  develop 
each  major  topic  with  its  minor  points.  We  shall  find 
later  that  the  sentence  outline  is  particularly  applicable  to 
stories,  but  it  may  of  course  be  used  for  other  kinds  of 
writing  as  well.  It  has  the  advantage  of  being  more  ex- 
plicit than  the  other  forms  of  outline  we  have  studied,  in 
that  it  gives  the  reader  a  complete  statement  of  the  divi- 
sions and  subdivisions  of  the  subject-matter  rather  than  a 
mere  suggestion.    We  may  illustrate  it  as  follows : — 

OUR  AUTOMOBILE 

I.    It  is  beautiful  to  look  at 
I. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

etc. 


OTHER  FORMS  OF  OUTLINE         95 

II.     It  is  comfortable  to  ride  in 
I. 
2. 

3. 

4. 
etc. 

III.  It  holds  the  whole  family 

I. 

2. 
3. 
4. 

etc. 

IV.  It  makes  distances  shorter 

I. 
2. 
3. 
4. 

etc. 

Here  every  major  topic  is  expressed  by  means  of  a  com- 
plete sentence.  The  plan  may  now  easily  be  completed  by 
inserting  the  subordinate  topics  under  each  main  heading. 
These,  as  said  before,  may  take  the  form  of  short  sentences, 
of  clauses,  of  phrases,  or  of  topics;  only,  again,  we  must 
not  forget  to  make  all  points  of  the  same  grade  of  subordi- 
nation uniform  in  expression.  Usually,  as  we  shall  see 
later,  the  sentence  plan  is  used  almost  exclusively  in  con- 
structing narration. 


COMBINATION    AND    INTERCHANGEABLE    PLANS 

We  should  explain,  before  we  go  any  further,  some- 
thing that  has  been  incidentally  mentioned  in  two  or  three 
other  places  in  this  chapter;  the   fact,   namely,   that  it  is 


96  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

usually  the  major  topic  in  our  plans  that  decides  for  us 
what  kind  of  outline  we  have,  by  what  name  it  shall  be 
called.  Or,  if  not  this,  as  when  we  use  the  Formal  type 
or  divide  our  plan  into  the  Informal  type  at  the  outset,  then 
the  style  of  the  uniform  subordinate  topics  must  decide  the 
name  of  the  plan  used.  As  a  rule  however  the  major  topics 
of  a  phrasal  plan  must  be  phrases;  of  a  clausal  plan,  clauses; 
and  so  on.  The  minor  topics  should  in  all  cases  be  uniform 
with  one  another,  though  they  need  not  necessarily  be  the 
same  in  expression  as  the  major  topics.  In  the  Formal 
plan  it  is  of  course  the  minor  point  of  the  first  degree  of 
subordination  that  decides  whether  our  plan  is  to  be  topical, 
phrasal,  clausal,  or  sentence;  for  we  know  that  the  three 
main  divisions — introduction,  discussion,  and  conclusion — 
are  uniformly  topical  in  their  nature,  and  are  in  a  way  out- 
side our  consideration  of  the  form  of  expression.  But  if 
we  want  to  divide  our  subject  into  four  or  five  informal 
major  topics,  as  we  did  in  the  plan  on  page  92,  we  shall 
there  again  have  to  look  to  the  points  of  the  first  degree  of 
subordination  to  ascertain  the  kind  of  plan  we  are  using. 
But  after  all,  as  we  have  seen  before,  the  mere  name  of  a 
plan  matters  little.  The  thing  that  does  matter  is  the  ability 
to  organize  our  thought  and  to  register  that  thought  on 
paper  systematically  and  consistently.  The  regulating  of 
our  forms  of  expression  in  writing  and  speaking  will  be 
the  means  of  rescuing  our  writing  and  our  conversation 
from  much,  if  not  from  all,  of  the  slovenliness  that  con- 
stantly mars  both  forms  of  our  expression. 

Now,  if  we  have  been  at  all  observant  we  have  seen  by 
this  time  that  the  various  types  of  plan  here  studied  are  in- 
terchangeable. We  can  take  a  sentence  outline  and  convert 
it  into  a  phrasal  outline ;  we  can  convert  a  clausal  outline  into 
a  topical  outline ;  and  so  on.     All  these  different  forms  are 


OTHER  FORMS  OF  OUTLINE         97 

easily  interchangeable.     To  illustrate  but  a  few  of  these 
possibilities : — 

OUR  AUTOMOBILE  (see  page  94)    (formerly  sentence, 
now  topical) 
I.     Its  beauty 

II.     Its  comfort 

III.  Its  capacity 

IV.  Its  speed 

or 

THE  SISTERS'  DUTIES  (see  page  90)    (formerly  phrasal, 
now  topical) 
I.     The  sick 

II.     The  needy 

III.     The  troubled 
etc. 

THE    BLUE-JAY    (see    page   88)     (formerly   phrasal,    now 

sentence) 
I.     Introduction 

I.  Where  it  lives 

II.     Discussion 

1.  How  large  it  is 

2.  What  its  colors  are 

3.  What  kind  of  voice  it  has 

4.  What  its  habits  are 

III.     Conclusion 

I.  What  its  place  is  among  other  birds 

We  cannot  say  positively  here  that  any  one  form  of 
these  minor  plans  must  be  applied  to  any  one  type  or  style 
of  composition.  Speaking  broadly  in  the  last  four  chapters 
of  the  book,  we  shall  see  that  outlines  for  Narration  should 
as  a  rule  be  sentence  or  participial;  that  outlines  for  Dq-* 


98  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

scription  should  be  topical  or  phrasal ;  those  for  Exposition, 
clausal,  phrasal,  or  topical;  and  those  for  argument,  any  or 
all  combined.  It  is  enough  for  us  to  remember  now  that, 
as  our  plan  should  always  express  clearly  the  contents  of 
the  composition,  we  should  select  the  form  of  expression 
which  we  feel  best  meets  the  situation.  It  may  be  that 
some  of  us  will  find  one  type  more  suitable  to  our  needs  and 
conditions  than  another  at  different  times.  We  must  dis- 
cover this  adjustment  for  ourselves  and  apply  it  accordingly. 
Our  intention  in  this  chapter  is  to  learn  chiefly  that  we 
must  not  mix  our  forms  of  expression  unduly.  A  mixture 
of  expressional  forms  leads  in  most  cases,  as  we  know  only 
too  well,  to  a  muddled  and  irregular  habit  of  thinking,  or 
indicates  a  habit  of  untrained,  undisciplined  thinking. 
There  will  be  many  times  of  course  when  we  shall  be  justi- 
fied in  making  a  combination  plan :  a  plan,  that  is,  in  which 
we  shall  combine  two  or  more  of  these  forms  of  expression 
in  the  enumeration  of  our  points.  We  might  have  done  this 
in  our  sketch  of  Prince.  We  might  there  very  properly 
have  indicated  a  brief  introduction  telling  about  Prince's 
breed,  size,  color,  etc.,  instead  of  introducing  these  points 
incidentally  as  we  did.  And  we  might  have  added  a  brief 
conclusion  making  general  comment  upon  Prince  as  a  model 
dog,  as  indeed  a  very  doggish  dog.  If  these  changes  were 
made  we  might  furthermore  fit  the  whole  outline  into  the 
Formal  mold ;  thus : —  i 


PRINCE 


I.     Introduction 

1.  His  breed 

2.  His  color 

3.  His  siae 

4.  His  face 

5.  His  hair 


OTHER  FORMS  OF  OUTLINE         99 

II.     Discussion 

1.  When  he  is  sportive 

a.  he  jumps 

b.  he  biles  in  play 

c.  he  upsets  things 

d.  he  makes  many  enemies 

2.  When  he  is  hungry 

a.  he  is  impatient 

b.  he  is  voracious 

c.  he  is  jealous 

3.  When  he  is  working 

a.  he  is  very  serious 

b.  he  is  very  loyal 

c.  he  is  very  keen 

4.  When  he  is  angry 

a.  he  barks  fiercely 

b.  he  shows  his  white  teeth 

c.  his  long  hair  bristles 

5.  When  he  is  sleepy  and  dull 

a.  he  growls  if  disturbed 

b.  he  stretches  elaborately 

c.  he  finds  a  warm  spot  and  lies  down 

d.  he  snores  heavily 

III.     Conclusion 

1.  Prince  compared  with  other  dogs 

2.  Why  we  love  Prince 

Or  v^^e  might  omit  the  word  ^'Discussion"  altogether  from 
our  plan  and  between  the  Introduction  and  the  Conclusion 
insert  the  development  of  the  subject  without  naming  it; 
thus : — 

PRINCE 
I.     Introduction 

1.  His  breed 

2.  His  color 

3.  His  size 

4.  His  face 

5.  His  hair 


100  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

II.     When  he  is  sportive 

1.  he  jumps 

2.  he  bites  in  play 

3.  he  upsets  things 

4.  he  makes  many  enemies 

III.  When  he  is  hungry 

1.  he  is  impatient 

2.  he  is  voracious 

3.  he  is  jealous 

IV.  When  he  is  working 

1.  he  is  very  serious 

2.  he  is  very  loyal 

3.  he  is  very  keen 

V.     When  he  is  angry 

1.  he  barks  fiercely 

2.  he  shows  his  white  teeth 

3.  his  long  hair  bristles 

VI.     When  he  is  sleepy  and  dull 

1.  he  growls  if  disturbed 

2.  he  stretches  elaborately 

3.  he  finds  a  warm  spot  and  lies  down 

4.  he  snores   heavily 

VII.     Conclusion 

1.  Prince  compared  with  other  dogs 

2.  Why  we  love  Prince 

It  will  often  happen  that  we  shall  feel  that  our  subject  should 
have  an  introduction  and  a  conclusion  as  independent  ele- 
ments in  our  composition.  There  may  be  things  that  will 
have  to  be  explained  before  we  can  hope  to  interest  our 
readers  in  our  sketch  or  story;  and  there  may  likewise  be 
things  that  will  have  to  be  unraveled  or  explained  at  the 
end.  In  all  these  cases  we  may  do  as  we  have  done  above, 
or  we  may  add  a  point  at  the  beginning  and  one  at  the  end 
of  the  composition,  each  showing  by  its  nature  that  it  is 
introductory  or  concluding ;  for  example : — 


OTHER   FORMS    OF   OUTLINE  ioi 

PRINCE 

I.     Prince, — breed — size — color — hair — face 

II.     When  he  is  sportive 

1.  he  jumps 

2.  he  bites  in  play 

3.  he  upsets  things 

4.  he  makes  many  enemies 

III.  When  he  is  hungry 

1.  he  is  impatient 

2.  he  is  voracious 

3.  he  is  jealous 

IV.  When  he  is  working 

1.  he  is  very  serious 

2.  he  is  very  loyal 

3.  he  is  very  keen 

V.     When  he  is  angry 

1.  he  barks  fiercely 

2.  he  shows  his  white  teeth 

3.  his  long  hair  bristles 

VI.     When  he  is  sleepy  and  dull 

1.  he  growls  if  disturbed 

2.  he  stretches  elaborately 

3.  he  finds  a  warm  spot  and  lies  down 

4.  he  snores  heavily 

VII.     Our  reasons  for  loving  Prince  more  than  other  dogs 

Such  arrangements  as  these  then  would  be  made  up  of 
two  different  types  and  would  therefore  be  combination 
plans.  We  must  bear  in  mind  in  this  connection  that  the 
Formal,  the  Informal,  and  the  Running  types  of  plan  are 
generic  types,  and  that  those  studied  in  this  chapter  are 
specific.  But  in  combining  one  type  with  another  we  may 
intermingle  all,  both  generic  and  specific.  We  must  re- 
member too  that  these  generic  types  receive  their  names 


I02  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

according  to  the  arrangement  of  material ;  that  the  specific 
types  are  named  according  to  the  form  of  expression  used 
in  writing  down  our  points. 

Therefore,  just  as  we  learned  that  we  can  unite  the  Run- 
ning with  the  Formal  and  Informal  plans,  so  long  as  we  do 
it  systematically;  so  also  we  see  here  that  topical,  phrasal, 
clausal,  and  sentence  plans  may  be  combined.  But  it  is 
safe  to  say  that  never  should  more  than  two  of  these  be 
combined  in  dealing  with  one  subject,  and  the  combination 
should  of  course  be  made  with  much  care.  Such  an  ar- 
rangement as  this  we  know  would  be  extremely  bad : — 


I. 

Introduction 

I.  Size  of 

2.  Color 

3.  What  breed 

II. 

Hungry 

III. 

On  duty 

IV. 

When  angry 

This  would  be  extremely  slip-shod  and  slovenly,  and  we 
have  surely  been  sufficiently  warned  against  this  kind  of 
thing  never  to  make  such  a  blunder. 


THE     DEDUCTIVE     PLAN 

We  come  now  to  the  Deductive  Outline,  sometimes  called 
the  Study  Plan  or  the  Analytic  Plan.  We  have  studied  this 
to  a  small  degree  in  the  chapter  dealing  with  the  Paragraph 
Plan  and  in  the  exercises  at  the  end  of  other  chapters.  But 
for  the  most  part  we  have  so  far  dealt  only  with  plans 
made  in  preparation  of  written  work  that  was  to  follow. 
We  have  led  from  a  mass  of  unorganized  material  into  a 
regular  and  consistent  arrangement  and  presentation  of  that 


OTHER    FORMS    OF    OUTLINE  103 

material.  But  sometimes  we  have  found  it  helpful  to  make 
notes  on  a  difficult  passage  in  History,  perhaps,  or  in  Eng- 
lish, Economics,  Science,  or  in  any  subject  with  which  we 
may  at  the  time  have  been  engaged.  We  have  ^'jotted 
down  the  main  points'',  as  we  have  said,  so  that,  when  we 
were  called  upon  for  recitation,  we  have  had  the  informa- 
tion gleaned  from  the  text-book  in  a  thoroughly  organized 
form.  This  is  a  most  valuable  exercise  and,  as  a  rule,  if 
done  seriously,  will  gain  for  us  a  much  better  knowledge 
of  the  subject  studied  than  we  could  otherwise  get.  To  lead 
from  the  composition  back  to  the  original  plan,  or  to  a  plan 
equivalent  to  the  original,  may  seem  very  much  like  placing 
the  cart  before  the  horse,  and  it  is  indeed  a  very  bad  thing 
for  us  to  do  in  connection  with  our  own  compositions.  We 
have  known  pupils  of  course  who  disliked  making  plans  and 
who,  in  consequence,  wrote  their  compositions  first  and  then 
made  the  plans.  But  they  disliked  making  plans  and  resorted 
to  this  method  only  because  they  did  not  understand  how  to 
go  about  making  a  plan.  Probably  they  had  never  had 
opportunities  of  studying  the  subject.  But  to  make  a  de- 
ductive or  study  or  analytic  plan  of  text  which  we  are  con- 
cerned in  mastering,  is  a  most  valuable  exercise.  Of  course 
the  plan  should  be  systematically  made ;  the  contents  of  the 
passage  should  be  sensibly  '^jotted  down".  The  major 
points  of  the  subject  should  be  major  points  in  the  plan 
and  the  minor  points  should  of  course  be  subordinated. 
Long  and  difficult  points  should  perhaps  be  written  in  sen- 
tence form;  shorter  and  easier  points,  in  topic,  phrasal,  or 
clausal  form.  The  kind  of  expression  used  in  the  plan 
should  vary  with  the  importance  of  the  information  regis- 
tered. If  the  subject-matter  be  uniform  in  its  value  and 
difficulty,  we  can  confine  ourselves  to  one  particular  type 
of  outline,  a  vastly  more  convenient  thing  to  do.     The  best 


104  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

results  from  our  study  are  oftentimes  gained  by  making 
our  deductive  or  study  plan  a  paragraph  plan.  This  is  par- 
ticularly the  case  when  the  text  itself  is  divided  into  dis- 
tinctly marked  sections  or  paragraphs.  Moreover,  the  para- 
graph plan,  as  we  have  seen,  is  likely  to  be  much  more 
detailed  and  complete  than  any  other  type. 

We  make  use  of  this  analytic  outline  not  only  when  we 
study  from  a  book,  but  when  we  watch  an  experiment,  and 
make  notes;  when  we  listen  to  a  lecture  and  write  out  the 
salient  features  of  it;  and  when  we  listen  to  a  talk  in  one 
of  our  societies  to  which  we  wish  to  reply.  This  last  in- 
stance is  particularly  common  in  the  refutation  of  debates, 
where  the  speaker  has  to  observe  and  note  carefully  what 
his  opponent  is  saying.  Unless  he  is  on  the  alert  to  or- 
ganize his  reply,  he  will  probably  not  make  a  successful 
rebuttal.  We  can  see  therefore  how  important  it  is  for  us 
to  cultivate  this  habit  of  outlining  and  analyzing  what  others 
have  said  in  order  that  what  we  may  haVe  to  say  about,  or 
in  reply  to,  it  may  be  consistently  presented.  Many  of  our 
greatest  men  in  every  field  of  activity  have  kept  notebooks 
in  which  they  have  deduced  plans  from  their  reading,  or 
from  things  which  they  have  heard  or  seen.  And  it  was 
oftentimes  these  very  notes  that  in  later  life  helped  them  to 
accomplish  a  work  that  made  their  names  immortal.  Haw- 
thorne, Dickens,  Stevenson,  Thackeray,  Bacon,  Emerson, 
and  scores  of  others  were  all  ^'notebook  men". 

On  the  other  hand,  we  have  known  the  zest  and  appre- 
ciation of  a  good  story  to  be  entirely  dulled  by  the  fact  that 
a  student  read  it  with  the  ever-conscious  knowledge  that 
his  teacher  was  going  to  require  an  outline  of  it  afterward. 
It  is  of  course  foolish  to  form  the  habit  of  outlining  every- 
thing, most  of  all  such  reading  as  we  do  for  pleasure.  This 
would  be  like  inquiring  minutely  about  the  fingering  of  a 


OTHER    FORMS    OF   OUTLINE  105 

piece  of  music  after  we  had  been  thrilled  with  its  ecstatic 
strains.  But  when  we  are  confronted  with  a  particularly 
difficult  text  which  is  going  to  be  necessary  to  us  in  later 
work  or  which  we  desire  to  master  for  personal  ends  we 
may  have  in  view,  then  the  making  of  a  study  plan  cannot 
be  too  highly  recommended.  Let  us  take  for  example  the 
following  passage  from  Epochs  of  English  History,  edited 
by  Rt.  Rev.  M.  Creighton,  and  deduce  an  outline  from  it. 


THE    CRIMEAN    WAR 

1.  In  November,  1853,  the  Emperor  of  Russia  declared  war 
against  Turkey.  To  the  surprise  of  Europe,  the  Turks  at  first 
held  their  own  against  the  invader.  The  Russians  were  repulsed 
from  every  point  of  attack  along  the  Danube,  and  the  Emperor 
became  more  exasperated  at  the  failure  of  his  arms.  The  em- 
peror of  the  French  attempted  in  vain  to  mediate.  At  last  a  mes- 
sage was  sent  by  England  that  unless  the  Russian  troops  were 
withdrawn  across  the  Pruth  before  the  end  of  April,  1854,  it 
would  be  considered  that  war  had  been  declared.  To  this  the  Czar 
made  no  reply,  and  the  war  began  its  course. 

2.  The  plan  of  operations  was  very  simple.  Russia  could 
only  be  attacked  in  her  extremities,  and  England  could  only  act 
on  a  sea  base.  A  fleet  was  sent  into  the  Baltic  with  high  ex- 
pectations of  success,  which  were  not  realized,  and  a  large  force 
of  English  and  French  troops  was  despatched  into  the  Black 
Sea  with  the  object  of  taking  Sebastopol,  a  powerful  fortress 
which  the  Russians  had  recently  constructed  at  great  expense.  In 
September  the  allies  landed  at  Eupatoria,  in  the  Crimea,  and  six 
days  later  completely  defeated  the  Russians  at  the  Battle  of  Alma. 
It  might  have  been  possible  to  attack  Sebastopol  with  success 
from  the  northern  side,  but  it  was  thought  more  prudent  to  be- 
siege it  from  the  south,  and  the  batteries  opened  fire  in  October. 
The  Battle  of  Balaklava  fought  on  October  25  was  signalized  by  a 
charge  of  six  hundred  light  cavalry,  in  which  nearly  half  were 
killed  or  wounded.  In  November  was  fought  the  Battle  of  Inker- 
man,  in  which  an  attempt  to  surprise  the  British  army  was  de- 


io6  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

feated  by  the  steadiness  of  the  guards.  The  winter  tried  the 
army  severely,  and  the  want  of  suppHes  and  hospitals  roused  in- 
dignation at  home. — Excerpt  from  Chapter  XXI. 

DEDUCTIVE,  ANALYTIC  OR  STUDY  PLAN  OF  THE  FOREGOING  EXCERPT 

I.     Declaration  of  war  by  Russia  against  Turkey  (Nov. 

1853) 

1.  Resistance  of  Turkey 

2.  Repulsion   of   Russians 

3.  Attempt  at  mediation  by  French 

4.  Message  from  England 

5.  The  Czar's  silence 

XL    The  War  in  the  Crimea  (1854) 

1.  Russia  versus  England 

a.  Methods  of  each 

2.  Maneuvers 

a.  In  the  Baltic 

b.  In  the  Black  Sea 

3.  Arrival  of  English  and  French  in  Crimea 

a.  Battle  of  Alma 

b.  Battle  of  Balaklava 

c.  Battle  of  Inkerman 

4.  The  severe  winter 


THE     BRACKET    PLAN 

A  more  general  method  of  planning  than  any  that  has 
yet  come  to  our  notice  is  that  in  which  we  subordinate  hori- 
zontally rather  than  perpendicularly  as  we  have  been  doing. 
This  is  sometimes  called  the  Bracket  Plan  and  it  applies 
only  to  the  way  in  which  we  write  down  the  material  on 
the  paper.  Any  plan  that  we  have  heretofore  drawn  up 
may  be  arranged  in  the  bracket  form.  It  is  a  mold  into 
which  we  can  fit  any  kind  of  knowledge  that  we  may  have 
about  anything.     It  is  valuable  chiefly  because  it  presents  a 


OTHER    FORMS    OF    OUTLINE 


107 


very  concise,  a  very  condensed,  and,  if  made  with  care,  a 
very  easily  understood  picture  of  the  contents  of  our  com- 
position. We  shall  find  if  we  consult  various  textbooks 
that  such  an  arrangement  of  material  is  often  made  in  sum- 
marizing work  at  the  ends  of  chapters,  or,  particularly  in 
a  subject  like  History,  in  presenting  family  genealogies  and 
royal  successions.  The  matter  of  subordination  is  indi- 
cated, as  we  can  see  below,  by  means  of  smaller  and  smaller 
bracketing. 

The  Introduction  to  Our  Literary  Club  as  outlined  on 
page  39  may  be  ''bracketed''  as  follows : — 


A.  Organization 


I.  General 


2.  Particular 


a.  Name  ■{  (i)  Emerson 


b.  Meetings 

c.  Purposes 

a.  Membership 

b.  Officers 


i(i)  Place 
1(2)  -■ 


(2)  Time 


id) 

1(2) 


Social  aims 
Intellectual  aims 


(1)  Age 

I  (2)  Number 
I  (3)  Initiation 
[(4)  Expense 

(i)  Director 

(2)  President 

(3)  Vice-president 

(4)  Secretary 

(5)  Treasurer 
1(6)  Critic 


In  such  plans  tabulation  is  usually  omitted,  the  picture  being 
clear  enough  to  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  relations  of  topics. 
We  have,  however,  included  it  here  in  order  that  rapid 
comparison  can  be  made  between  this  and  the  original 
from  which  it  is  transposed.  (See  also  outline  of  kinds 
of  letters,  Chap.  VIII,  and  outline  of  aids  to  variety, 
Chap.  IX.) 


io8  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 


THE     PARALLEL     PLAN 


It  is  sometimes  desirable  to  present  to  the  eye  the  rela- 
tions that  certain  different  kinds  of  contemporary  events 
bear  to  one  another.  The  events  of  an  author's  life,  for 
instance,  the  publication  of  his  works,  the  events  in  the  lives 
of  other  authors  who  lived  at  about  the  same  time,  and  the 
contemporary  historical  events,  are  sometimes  all  written  in 
parallel  columns,  so  that  one  can  see  them  comparatively,  at 
a  glance.  This  is  a  most  valuable  kind  of  plan  for  con- 
densation and  comparison;  for  learning,  perhaps,  what  in- 
fluence certain  historical  periods  had  on  certain  lives  or 
works,  and  for  studying  the  relations  between  men  and 
events.  We  have  frequently  seen  such  parallel  plans  drawn 
up  for  our  benefit  in  text-books  and  they  have  been  of  great 
help  to  us,  for  we  are  often  inclined  to  believe  that,  because 
an  account  of  a  happening  occurs  in  a  book  after  the  account 
of  a  man's  life,  the  man  lived  long  before  the  happening. 
In  other  words,  we  are  likely  from  time  to  time  to  deduce 
a  false  chronology  because  an  author  cannot  write  about  two 
events  at  the  same  time  though  they  may  have  occurred 
simultaneously.  The  parallel  plan  will  prevent  our  gather- 
ing these  false  impressions.  Such  plans  may  be  used  also 
to  excellent  advantage  for  purposes  of  summarizing  periods 
of  history  or  the  happenings  in  novels  and  poems.  The 
following  excerpt  illustrates  the  type  of  parallel  planning 
that  is  often  met  with  in  introductions  to  texts  in  various 
subjects.  It  will  be  understood,  of  course,  that  the  number 
of  columns  in  such  a  plan  or  diagram  must  vary  according 
to  the  number  and  importance  of  the  main  heading  to  be 
considered.  There  may  be  only  two,  or  a  dozen  or  more. 
And  care  must  be  taken  to  keep  events  of  even  date  or  value 
on  the  same  line : — 


OTHER    FORMS    OF    OUTLINE 


109 


A.D. 


ENGLISH  HISTORY 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE 


Milton's  life 


(James  I.   on  the 

throne). 
Persecution  of  the 

Puritans. 


December    9th, 
Milton  born. 


John 


"Mayflower"  sails  for 
America. 


James   I.   died.     First 

Parliament.     Plague 

in  London. 
Second  Parliament. 
Third  Parliament.    Pe 

tition  of  Right. 

Oliver  Cromwell  in  Par 

liament.  Protest  and 

dissolution. 
Charles  IL  born. 


Publication  of  Shake- 
speare's Sonnets. 

Authorized  version  of 
the  Bible. 

Shakespeare  died, 
April  23d.  Publica- 
tion of  Jonson's  Un- 
derwoods. 

Bacon's  Novum  Or- 
ganum  published. 

First  foHo  of  Shake- 
speare's plays. 

Fletcher  (dramatist) 
died. 

Enlarged  edition  of 
Bacon's  Essays. 

Bacon  died. 

John  Bunyan  born. 


Education  carried  on 
at  home  by  Puritan 
tutor. 


Sent     to 
School. 


Laud  and  Wentworth. 
The  period  of  Thor- 
ough. 

Charles  crowned  in  Ed- 
inburgh. Laud,  Arch- 
bishop of  Canter- 
bury. 

Prynne,  Burton,  and 
Bastwick  pilloried. 

League  and  Covenant. 
Episcopacy  abolished 
in  Scotland. 


John  Dryden  born. 


John  Locke  born. 


George  Herbert  died. 


Ben  Jonson  died. 


St.     Paul's 


and 


Psalms     CXIV 

CXXXVI. 
To    Christ's    College, 

Cambridge. 

On  a  Fair  Infant. 
Vacation  Exercise. 

B.  A.  degree.   Nativity. 


On  the  Circumcision; 
On  the  Passion;  On 
Shakespeare. 

Epitaphs  on  Hohson 
and  Marchioness  oj 
Winchester. 

M.  A.  degree,  Cam- 
bridge. Retired  to 
Horton  for  five  years. 
While  there  wrote 
Time,  Solemn  Music, 
May  Morning,  Son- 
net II,  U Allegro,  II 
Penseroso ,  A  r  cades , 
Comus,  and  Lycidas. 

Travels  on  Continent. 
Italian  Sonnets. 


From    Frederick    Day    Nichols'   Milton's   Shorter   Poems    and 
Sonnets. 


no 


COMPOSITION    PLANNING 


We  may  also  make  a  parallel  plan  of  a  different  but 
equally  helpful  sort,  such  as  in  the  illustration  from  James 
Russell  Lowell's  The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal,  following: — 

Contrasts  in  The  Vision  of   Sir  Launfal 


Prelude  I 

Prelude  II 

Summer 

Winter 

Flowers 

Ice 

Music 

Silence 

Life 

Death 

Inspiration 

Desolation 

Youth 

Age 

etc. 

etc. 

We  may  fill  in  the  spaces  in  the  following  diagram  with 
the  material  for  which  the  various  columns  call  and  we 
will  have,  when  done,  not  only  the  chief  events  of  the 
author's  life,  but  also  all  of  the  great  world-happenings 
that  were  contemporary  with  him  : — 

Sir  Walter  Scott  and  His  Period 


Dates 

Events 

Works 

1 

Contemporary 
Writers 

Contemporary- 
Statesmen 
and  Leaders 

Contemporary 
Events 

OTHER   FORMS   OF   OUTLINE 


lit 


Such  parallel  plans  are  of  great  value  to  us  in  most  lines 
of  our  study.  Sometimes  they  are  called  'Tables",  but  here 
again  the  mere  name  makes  no  difference.  We  will  illus- 
trate but  a  few  subjects  only  in  which  the  plan  may  prove 
useful.  First,  in  language  study  we  may  be  able  to  "clinch" 
difficult  verbs  by  summarizing  them  thus : — 


Irregular  Verbs  in  — 


Verb 

Meaning 

Parts 

Difficulties 

or  in  History, 


The  War 


Battles 

Dates 

Leaders 

Brief  Account 

112  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

or  in  Science, 


Organism 

Brief 
Description 

Characteristics 

Relation  to  Other 
Forms 

or  in  English, 


Word 

Where  Found 

Meaning 

PecuHar  Use 

Figure 

Where  Found 

Paraphrase 

Line 

Scansion 

Explanation  of  Meter 

OTHER    FORMS    OF   OUTLINE  113 

and  so  forth.  With  the  exercise  of  a  little  ingenuity  on 
our  part  we  shall  be  able  to  construct  original  and. valuable 
parallel  plans  for  almost  any  phase  of  any  of  our  work,  and 
thus  aid  our  memory  and  facilitate  our  study.  The  above 
illustrations  are  but  a  very  few  indications  of  what  can  be 
done  along  this  line.  Every  one  of  these,  as  well  as  many 
others  of  our  own  invention,  should  be  elaborated  and  filled 
in  with  proper  material. 


THE    HEADLINE     PLAN 

The  Headline  Plan  is  a  brief  summary  or  analysis  of  a 
news  item  placed  at  the  top  of  a  column  of  news  for  the 
benefit  of  the  reader  of  the  paper.  It  aims  to  give  in  a 
few  words  the  chief  content  of  the  article  which  follows  it. 
Oftentimes  a  busy  person  who  has  time  to  read  only  these 
headlines  in  his  morning  paper,  can  get  a  very  good  idea 
of  the  happenings  in  the  world,  provided  of  course  the 
headlines  are  carefully  and  thoughtfully  stated.  By  being 
well  stated,  we  mean  that  it  has  been  the  object  of  the  writer 
to  give  a  truthful,  well-selected,  and  well-phrased  conden- 
sation of  the  news  contained.  This  the  writers  of  our 
best  newspapers  can  always  be  depended  upon  to  do.  But 
in  some  of  those  papers  which  we  sometimes  designate  as 
"yellow",  the  aim  of  the  "headliner"  seems  to  be  to  flaunt 
the  striking  or  even  the  terrible  before  the  eyes  of  the  pur- 
chaser and  reader  of  the  paper,  rather  than  the  truthful. 
This  is  one  of  the  distinct  marks  of  difference  between  the 
''yellow''  journal  and  the  dignified  news  sheet,  often  called 
the  ''gentleman's  journal".  Another  very  characteristic 
mark,  however,  is  the  size  and  prominence  given  to  such 
headlines.     The  cheaper  paper  will  oftentimes  sprawl  the 


114  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

large  words  of  the  plan  entirely  across  one  sheet ;  the  more 
dignified  paper  will  confine  the  headline  plan  to  the  limits 
of  the  column  in  which  the  news  item  is  to  appear.  We 
will  examine  a  few  of  these  headline  plans,  confining  our- 
selves to  those  of  the  better  class.  But,  before  doing  so, 
let  us  recall  what  the  purpose  should  be, — it  should  always 
be  to  impart  truthful,  general  information  about  the  matter 
reported,  to  give  the  salient  features  of  that  matter  in  con- 
cise, easily  understood  terms;  it  should  never  be  simply  to 
attract  attention  or  to  arouse .  feeling.  The  cultivation  of 
the  habit  of  writing  true  and  genuinely  informing  headlines 
is  very  important  for  us.  They  are  the  same  kind  of  thing 
that  we  write  whenever  we  condense  the  words  of  another 
to  a  short,  rememberable  form;  when  we  deduce  brief  out- 
lines ;  when  we  take  notes.  The  few  words  of  explanation 
that  we  oftentimes  affix  to  papers  that  we  hand  to  our  teach- 
ers in  various  subjects  are  nothing  more  or  less  than  head- 
line plans.  Such  a  plan  is  of  course  always  a  deductive 
plan,  but  deduced  sometimes  from  the  event  itself  rather 
than  from  the  written  account  of  the  event.  A  newspaper 
writer  witnesses  an  accident,  we  will  say.  He  notes  the 
chief  features  of  the  affair.  With  a  little  revision  perhaps 
when  he  gets  to  his  office,  he  allows  these  to  stand  for  head- 
lines and  then  ^'writes  up''  the  accident.  This  is  a  natural 
and  safe  way  to  proceed.  The  *'yellow"  method  is  different. 
It  aims  to  place  a  minimum  of  work  on  the  '*write-up",  and 
a  maximum  of  frenzy  (and  ink!)  on  the  headline  plan. 
Usually  however  the  headline  plan  is  deduced  in  the  natural 
way,  the  article  being  written  first  and  then  the  writer  re- 
viewing it  to  see  how  best  he  can  condense  it  to  a  few 
words  in  order  to  convey  its  full  meaning  to  the  newspaper 
''glancer". 


OTHER   FORMS   OF   OUTLINE  115 

STREET  CAR  COLLISION. 


Crosstown  Car  Runs   Into    Broadway 
Car  at  59th  Street. 


THREE  PEOPLE  INJURED.  ONE  SERIOUSLY. 


CARELESS  MOTORMAN  KILLS  THREE  PEOPLE! 


Big  Trolley  "Bump''  at  59th  Street  and  Broadway 


ANGRY  CROWD  MOBS  MOTORMAN 


Here  we  have  represented  the  two  different  styles.  Of 
course  it  is  the  former  that  we  want  to  take  for  our  guide. 
It  tells  with  dignity  and  truth  what  the  actual  happening 
was,  and  its  result.    Other  good  examples  are : 


ii6  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 


IMPERIAL  PARLIAMENT. 


LORD  LANSDOWNE'S  INVITATION. 


GOVERNMENT  REPLY. 


PARLIAMENT  BILL  INTRODUCED 
BY  LORD  CREWE. 


NO  AMENDMENT  TO  BE  ACCEPTED. 


HOUSE  OF  LORDS.— WEDNESDAY. 


(From  The  London  Times) 


NEW  YORK 

LITERARY  NOTES 


Mr.  Frohman's  Reminiscences — Much  Fic- 
tion and  Many  Religious  Works 
About  to  Appear 


(From  The  New  York  Times) 


OTHER    FORMS    OF   OUTLINE  117 

DEATH  OF  COUNT  TOLSTOY. 


THE  GREAT  WRITER'S  CAREER. 


(From  The  London  Times) 

AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN 
GOVERNMENT. 


COUNT  AEHRENTHAL'S  DIFFICULTIES. 


RUMOURS  OF  POSSIBLE   RESIGNATION. 


(From  The  London  Post) 


GOVERNOR  BARS 

INAUGURAL  BALL 


California's    New  Executive  Wants   None 
of  It,  So  Far  as  He's  Concerned. 


FAVORS  CHILL  SIMPLICITY 


(From  The  New  York  Globe) 


ii8  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 


EXERCISE 


I.     Make  a  study  plan  of  this  chapter. 
11.     Make  an  outline  showing  the  different  kinds  of 
plans  you  studied  before  reaching  the  present  chapter;  plans, 
that  is,  dealing  with  the  arrangement  of  subject-matter. 

III.  Make  an  outline  showing  the  different  kinds  of 
plans  you  have  studied  in  this  chapter :  plans,  that  is,  deal- 
ing with  the  form  of  expression  of  subject-matter.  (Do  not 
confuse  with  no.  I  above.) 

IV.  Combine  nos.  II  and  III  into  some  one  con- 
sistent plan. 

V.     Make  topical  plans  for  each  of  the  following 
titles  :— 

Skating  at  the  Rink  The  Maples 

A  Good  Old  Horse  Various  News-stands  That  I  Pass 

Street  Noises  The  Parade 

The  Train  on  Which  I  Rode  On  the  Merry-Go-Round 

The  Crow  Our  National  Coins 

VI.  Illustrate  how  each  of  the  above  may  be  made  a 
phrasal,  a  clausal,  or  a  sentence  plan. 

VII.  Draw  up  a  combination  plan  for  the  following 
title:  "My  Home  Study  Period''.  Tell  why  you  think 
the  subject  should  be  outlined  in  the  combination  form. 

VIII.     Make  a  study  plan  of  the  account  of  some  battle 
you  have  studied  in  History ;  of  the  settlement  of  some  col- 
ony; of  the  life  of  some  author  or  some  other  public  man. 
IX.     Enlarge  and  complete  those   illustrative  plans 
used  in  this  chapter  that  are  left  incomplete. 

X.     Convert   any  two  plans  previously  made  into 
highly  subordinated  bracket  plans. 


OTHER    FORMS    OF    OUTLINE  119 

XL  Make  a  parallel  plan  of  the  past  year  or  two  of 
your  life  with  contemporary  events  and  with  the  lives  of  two 
or  three  other  people.  Complete  the  illustrative  parallel 
plans  in  this  chapter. 

XII.     Draw  up  a  series  of  newspaper  headings   for 
school  happenings  of  the  past  month. 


CHAPTER    VII 
POINT  OF  VIEW  AND  PURPOSE 

POINT    OF    VIEW 

We  have  said  something  (Chapter  IV)  about  the  scope 
of  our  composition.  We  are  now  going  to  study  about  this 
a  Httle  more  in  order  to  understand  how  we  may  Hmit  our 
titles  somewhat  and  focus  them  more  intensely  upon 
one  particular  point.  It  is  very  important  that  we  consider 
every  title  we  may  be  given,  no  matter  how  narrow  and  con- 
fined it  may  be,  from  some  one  definite  point  of  view. 
If  we  are  not  careful  to  do  this,  we  shall  find  ourselves  con- 
stantly attempting  to  write  on  subjects  that  are  too  big  for 
a  successful  handling  in  an  ordinary  composition.  More- 
over, we  shall  find  that  we  are  tempted  to  wander  and  to 
become  confused  in  our  development  of  a  subject  unless 
we  are  first  more  careful  to  limit  it  to  a  certain  phase  of  its 
character.  By  way  of  illustration  of  this  fact  let  us  exam- 
ine somewhat  closely  ''Horses",  as  a  title  for  a  composition. 
Now,  whole  volumes  have  been  written  about  this  interest- 
ing animal,  and  for  us  to  attempt  to  exhaust  the  subject 
within  the  limits  of  a  single  school  composition  would  be 
little  short  of  absurd.  We  could  give  nothing  but  the  most 
general  sketch  of  horses  if  we  attempted  to  write  about 
them  without  limiting  ourselves  in  any  way.  Futhermore, 
we  would  not  be  qualified  to  write  with  equal  facility  about 
all  kinds  of  horses.     Probably  none  of  us  could  write  intel- 

120 


POINT   OF    VIEW   AND    PURPOSE  121 

ligently  of  more  than  one  or  two  classes  of  them.  It  would 
be  vastly  better  then  for  us,  in  dealing  with  such  a  subject, 
to  limit  it  to  one  particular  point  of  view.  Let  us  name 
some  of  the  many  points  of  view  from  which  the  horse 
may  be  considered : — 

We  may  consider  this  animal  from 

1.  the  farmer's  point  of  view, 

2.  the  merchant's  point  of  view, 

3.  the  driver's  point  of  view, 

4.  the  huntsman's  point  of  view, 

5.  the  gambler's  point  of  view, 

6.  the  equestrian's  point  of  view, 

7.  the  artist's  point  of  view, 

8.  the  blacksmith's  point  of  view, 

9.  the  physiologist's  point  of  view, 
10.  the  horse-breeder's  point  of  view. 

Here  we  have  named  ten  different  points  of  view  off- 
hand, and  we  have  not  yet  named  them  all.  "The  Horse" 
discussed  from  the  point  of  view  of  any  one  of  these 
would  be  a  subject  of  ample  breadth  for  a  composition  of 
at  least  four  or  five  pages  of  the  ordinary  school  composi- 
tion paper. 

But  it  may  be  complained  that  we  have  selected  the  very 
easiest  possible  kind  of  subject  for  our  illustration.  This 
is  perfectly  true.  A  class  name,  a  generic  word,  such  as 
''Horses"  or  ''The  Horse",  lends  itself  to  a  much  wider  1 
division  than  does  a  more  specific  title,  and  therefore  is  a 
more  dangerous  kind  of  subject  for  us  to  handle.  How- 
ever, no  subject  is  so  narrow  that  we  cannot  limit  it  to 
some  extent  by  revolving  it  in  our  minds  and  endeavoring 
to  discover  points  of  view  from  which  it  may  be  considered. 
Is  our  subject  "What  I  Ate  Yesterday"?  Well,  we  can 
discuss  it  from  the  point  of  view  of  a  hungry  boy;  from 


122  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

that  of  a  dyspeptic ;  from  that  of  a  vegetarian ;  from  that  of 
a  healthy,  vigorous  exerciser.  We  may  discuss  our  club 
from  the  point  of  view  of  a  visitor,  or  from  that  of  an  or- 
dinary member,  from  an  officer's  point  of  view,  or  from 
that  of  a  critic  or  suggester.  We  may  discuss  our  dog 
Prince  from  the  point  of  view  of  companion,  hunter,  or 
trainer.  In  other  words,  we  can  always  limit  our  subjects 
to  some  particular  sphere  and  thereby  avoid  the  danger  of 
writing  at  random. 

Of  course  there  may  be  times  when  it  is  required  of  us 
to  make  our  treatment  of  a  subject  extensive  rather  than 
intensive.  The  method  of  our  telling  a  story  or  giving  an 
account  of  anything  depends  chiefly  upon  two  things, — the 
kind  of  thing  we  have  to  tell  and  the  kind  of  audience  we 
have  to  tell  it  to.  Our  first  purpose  must  always  be  to 
make  what  we  have  to  say  interesting.  How  best  to  do  this 
will  depend  upon  these  two  conditions.  If  we  are  going  to 
give  an  account  of  our  club  to  a  very  young  and  very  rest- 
less audience  of  children,  we  had  better  begin  with  an 
account  of  our  most  interesting  meeting  and  introduce  such 
details  as  location,  membership,  purposes,  etc.  (if  introduced 
at  all),  as  briefly  as  possible  at  the  end.  If  on  the  other 
hand  we  are  telling  an  audience  of  adults  about  our  club, 
the  arrangement  we  have  already  employed  is  good.  If 
again  we  are  speaking  to  an  audience  composed  of  intelli- 
gent foreigners  who  know  nothing  about  club  work  as  it  is 
conducted  in  our  city,  then  of  course  we  must  begin  with 
a  lucid  definition  of  our  subject.  If  we  are  telling  a  group 
of  sportsmen  about  a  hunt  in  which  we  participated,  we  may 
proceed  at  once  to  the  excitement  of  the  chase  and  the 
bringing  of  the  prey  to  bay,  but  we  could  not  do  this  with 
an  audience  unacquainted  with  the  phraseology  of  the  hunt. 
Such  expressions  as  "taking  a  hedge'',  "holding  the  pack", 


POINT   OF   VIEW   AND    PURPOSE  123 

"staking  a  horse'',  would  have  little  meaning  and,  before 
being  used,  would  have  to  be  explained.  In  talking  to  a  lay 
audience  about  an  airship  an  aeronaut  would  in  all  proba- 
bility deal  only  with  the  most  general  terms  in  connection 
with  the  machine;  he  would  cover  the  whole  subject  in  a 
most  general  way;  he  would  in  other  words  give  the  au- 
dience a  telescopic  view  of  the  airship.  But  if  he  were  talk- 
ing to  an  audience  of  air  navigators  on  the  subject,  he 
would  find  it  as  impossible  as  it  would  be  unnecessary  to 
cover  the  whole  subject  in  the  period  of  time  usually  al- 
lotted to  speakers.  He  would  rather  take  a  single  part  of 
the  airship  and  discuss  it  minutely.  He  would  probably 
spend  much  more  than  an  hour  with  such  an  audience  dis- 
cussing only  the  motor  of  the  machine;  he  could  indulge  to 
his  heart's  content  in  technical  terms  which  would  be  Greek 
to  us;  he  would,  in  short,  be  intensive  and  microscopic. 
When  we  wrote  about  the  club  we  kept  constantly  in  view 
the  kind  of  audience  we  had  to  deal  with, — we  were  ex- 
plaining the  club  to  people  who  knew  nothing  about  it. 
This  constant  consideration  of  the  sort  of  audience  we  are 
dealing  with  is  one  of  the  very  important  factors  in  Point 
of  View.  To  discuss  the  plumage  of  a  bird  in  conversation 
with  a  sportsman  might  be  very  interesting  to  him,  but  he 
would  be  at  a  loss  to  understand  our  enthusiasm  and  our 
technical  terms,  if  we  were  so  unwise  as  to  use  them.  But 
let  a  milliner  listen  to  us  for  a  moment  and  there  will  be  an 
immediate  interest  in  what  we  have  to  say  and  an  intense 
enthusiasm  in  response  to  our  own. 

Let  us  examine  this  a  little  more  closely  even  at  the  risk 
of  becoming  tedious.  Suppose  it  is  our  purpose  to  outline 
the  life  of  a  great  man.  We  must  at  once  consider  whether 
this  man  was  noted  for  his  great  deeds,  for  his  breadth  of 
travel,  for  the  number  and  greatness  of  the  books  he  pub- 


L24  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

lished,  for  his  superb  character,  or  for  any  one  of  the  many 
other  things  that  go  to  make  the  study  of  a  man's  life 
worth  while.  Having  decided  then  what  our  subject  was 
best  known  for  in  his  life,  we  have  likewise  decided  what 
the  major  topics  in  our  outline  must  be,  and  what  the  lead- 
ing theme  of  our  composition.  When  we  think  of  Na- 
poleon, we  immediately  recall  his  great  military  career; 
when  we  think  of  Longfellow,  our  minds  are  filled  with  his 
literary  achievements;  when  we  think  of  Livingstone,  we 
get  a  picture,  correct  or  confused,  of  the  African  jungle, 
and  exploration  looms  large  in  our  minds;  and  so  on. 
These  considerations  give  us  at  once  in  each  case  the  major 
motive  in  the  man's  career,  and  tell  us  likewise  what  must 
be  the  keynote  of  our  plan  of  composition.  Of  course  the 
other  details  of  the  life  will  not  be  omitted,  but  they  will 
quite  properly  be  given  a  minor  place.  The  plan,  in  the 
case  of  a  military  genius,  for  instance,  might  be  arranged 
in  a  general  way  as  follows : — 

I.     First  Great  Military  Promise 

1.  At  training  school 

2.  Age 

3.  Record 

4.  Physical  equipment 

II.     First  Military  Assignment 
I.  Success 

III.     Battle  of 


1.  His  skill 

2.  His  leadership 

3.  His  success 

IV.     Battles  of and 


1.  Superhuman  exertions 

2.  Outcome 


POINT   OF    VIEW   AND    PURPOSE  125 

V.     Last  Battles 


1.  Victory  always 

2.  His  men 

3.  His  age  and  condition 

VL     Death 

I.  Public  obsequies 

Again,  we  may  make  a  general  plan  of  any  man's  life  ac- 
cording to  time,  place,  or  events.  If  our  subject  be  one 
who  made  places  famous  in  his  career,  then  we  will  give 
places  the  prominent  position ;  if  the  events  of  his  life  were 
especially  noteworthy,  then  these  must  stand  out;  and  so 
with  dates  or  time.  And  by  subordinating  the  minor  mat- 
ter we  will  at  the  same  time  have  all  the  details  of  his  life. 
We  may  illustrate  again  in  a  general  way  as  follows : — 

Events.  Places.  Time. 


I. 

Birth 

I.  Cambridge,  Mass. 

I. 

1809 

I.     1809 

I.     1809 

I.     Birth 

2.     Cambridge, 

2.     Birth 

2.     Cambridge, 

Mass. 

Mass. 

I. 

Education 

II.   Harvard  Univer- 

II. 

1825 

etc. 

sity 

1.  1825 

2.  Education 

etc. 

1.  Education 

2.  Harvard 
University 

etc. 

Now  we  do  not  mean  to  say  that  all  subjects  must  al- 
ways be  limited  to  and  discussed  from  any  one  single  point 
of  view.  It  may  often  be  the  case  that  we  shall  have  to  use 
two  or  three  points  of  view  in  one  composition.  The 
breeder  of  horses  may  be  a  gambler  in  horse-racing,  or  he 
may  be  an  expert  equestrian.  In  either  case  we  should  have 
to  combine  two  points  of  view  at  least  in  writing  on  the  sub- 
ject. Again,  our  point  of  view  may  be  so  general  as  almost 
to  lose  the  significance  of  being  a  point  of  view  at  all.  We 
may  tell  a  story  simply  from  the  point  of  view  of  a  listener 


126  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

or  a  narrator.  We  may  write  about  the  horse  simply  from 
the  point  of  view  of  a  general  informant  to  one  who  knows 
little  or  nothing  about  horses.  But  it  will  always  be  best 
for  us  to  Hmit  our  subject  to  one  point  of  view,  if  possible, 
however  general  or  however  narrow  it  may  have  to  be. 
This  will  keep  our  work  much  more  unified  and  sequential. 
After  we  have  had  long  practice  in  thus  concentrating  upon 
small  fields,  we  may  launch  out  into  more  ambitious  ones. 
Enough  has  now  been  said  about  point  of  view  to  enable 
us  to  understand  how  to  ''split''  or  divide  almost  any  title 
we  may  be  given  into  the  various  divisions  to  which  it  will 
lend  itself.  When  we  come  to  the  jtudy  of  Description  we 
shall  see  that  point  of  view  has  a  further  meaning;  namely, 
the  place  or  places  from  which  a  thing  is  viewed.  If  for 
instance  we  were  writing  a  description  of  the  house  in  which 
we  live,  our  point  of  view  might  be  in  the  street  before  the 
house;  or  we  might  go  about  from  place  to  place,  both  in- 
side and  out,  viewing  the  house  from  all  sides.  This  mean- 
ing of  point  of  view  will  be  fully  discussed  later  (Chapter 
XIV).  For  the  present  we  must  simply  fix  in  our  minds 
how  the  one  meaning  differs  from  the  other.  We  have  been 
studying  in  this  chapter  point  of  view  as  the  way  or  manner 
in  which  we  consider  a  subject;  we  are  going  to  study  it 
under  Description  as  the  place  from  which  a  thing  is  viewed. 
The  two,  as  we  shall  see,  are  not  at  all  contradictory.  It  is 
necessary  for  an  artist,  when  painting  a  horse,  to  view  him 
from  a  certain  place  after  the  manner  of  an  artist.  The 
aerial  navigator  will  see  the  aeroplane  from  a  certain  place 
and  he  will  also  see  it  with  the  eye  or  in  the  manner  of  the 
trained  expert.  When  therefore  we  are  attempting  to  write 
a  composition  about  some  person  or  scene  or  object,  we 
may  have  occasion  to  keep  in  mind  two  different  points  of 
view.     Here,   however,   and  in  the  exercises  that   follow 


POINT   OF   VIEW   AND    PURPOSE  127 

the  present  chapter  we  shall  deal  most  largely  with  point  of 
view  as  the  manner  in  which  we  consider  a  subject.  This 
is  sometimes  called  Personal  Point  of  View  as  differentiated 
from  the  point  of  view  of  place,  which  is  known  as  Im- 
personal or  Physical  Point  of  View. 

PURPOSE 

Our  composition  subject  should  be  further  limited  by 
our  having  a  definite  purpose  in  its  development.  Of 
course  we  should  have  a  purpose  in  all  that  w^e  do.  If  we 
have  been  at  all  observant  we  have  seen  clearly  enough 
that  purposeless  actions  and  purposeless  lives  are  usually 
valueless  and  insignificant.  Unless  we  have  a  clearly  de- 
fined purpose  in  everything  that  we  do,  our  ''doing"  will 
never  amount  to  very  much.  Moreover,  we  will  be  a  hin- 
drance not  only  to  ourselves  but,  what  is  worse,  we  shall 
be  a  cause  of  delay  and  exasperation  to  others,  if  we  go 
through  life  in  an  aimless,  purposeless  fashion.  Probably 
all  of  us  at  one  time  or  another  have  been  hurrying  to  get 
somewhere  in  the  crowded  street,  when  we  were  delayed 
by  some  slow,  ''going-nowhere"  person  immediately  in  front 
of  us  whom  it  was  almost  impossible  for  us  to  pass  and  who 
refused  to  go  a  whit  faster.  That  aimless,  sauntering,  time- 
wasting  individual  was  not  only  not  going  anywhere  him- 
self but  he  was  hindering  others  from  going  where  they 
wished.  We  have  a  purpose  in  the  things  of  life  which  per- 
haps we  think  of  least, — we  have  a  purpose  in  eating  our 
food ;  in  wearing  our  clothes ;  in  going  to  school ;  in  reading 
a  book.  Even  in  our  play,  where  supposedly  we  throw 
seriousness  to  the  winds,  we  have  a  purpose;  the  purpose, 
namely,  of  having  a  good  time,  of  getting  exercise,  of  win- 
ning a  certain  game.     Our  parents,  our  friends,  our  teach- 


128  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

ers,  all  those  about  us  in  our  daily  routine,  set  us  excellent 
examples  in  purposeful,  definitely  aimed  lives  and  actions. 
They  are  not,  to  be  sure,  constantly  telling  us  about  their 
purposes.  We  should  not  like  them  so  well  if  they  did  do 
so.  But  we  see  in  their  manner  of  work,  and  better  in  their 
accomplishments,  that  they  are  definitely  and  with  determi- 
nation centered  on  one  single  idea  and  purpose. 

Now  it  is  most  of  all  necessary  for  us  to  have  in  mind 
a  purpose  when  we  write  a  composition;  for  nowhere  else 
in  all  our  work  is  there  greater  necessity  for  concentration 
and  definiteness.  The  average  pen  in  the  hand  of  the  aver- 
age student  is  very  much  like  a  wild  colt.  The  animal  runs 
all  about  the  field,  getting  nowhere  at  all,  yet  using  the 
whole  sward  for  its  exercise.  So  we,  when  we  sit  down 
to  writ^  a  composition,  without  having  a  definite  object  in 
view,  are  apt  to  run  all  over  the  paper,  to  say  a  great  deal 
that  we  ought  not  to  say  and  to  leave  unsaid  many  things 
that  we  ought  to  say.  If,  however,  we  bridle  the  colt  and 
put  a  determined  rider  on  its  back,  we  shall  witness  a  regu- 
lar and  purposeful  course  being  taken  around  the  field. 

The  purpose  of  a  composition  then  acts  as  a  sort  of 
bridle  or  restraint  to  us  in  handling  our  subject.  If,  for 
instance,  we  are  going  to  write  about  coal-mining  from 
the  point  of  view  of  a  miner,  we  shall  find  that  even  yet  we 
have  a  subject  that  is  too-  big  for  all  practical  composition 
uses.  But  if  we  limit  it  still  further  by  announcing  that 
our  purpose  is  to  show  how  difficult  it  is  to  mine  the  coal, 
we  have  a  more  workable  problem. 

If  we  were  writing  on  the  same  subject  from  the  point 
of  view  of  the  mine-owner,  we  should  still  find  our  subject 
too  broad  and  we  should  have  to  limit  it  further  by  stating 
some  such  purpose,  as  to  show  the  sources  of  expenditure 
in  coal-mining.     And    again,    writing    on    **Coal-Mining" 


POINT   OF   VIEW   AND    PURPOSE  129 

from  the  point  of  view  of  a  visitor  to  the  mines,  our  pur- 
pose might  very  naturally  be  to  show  in  what  a  dreary  and 
dangerous  place  the  miners  have  to  spend  most  of  their 
lives. 

Suppose  still  further  that  we  were  going  to  write  a 
composition  on  '*Our  Schoolroom''  from  the  point  of  view 
of  the  pupil.    Some  possible  purposes  might  be : — 

To  show  that  the  schoolroom  is  cheerful, 

To  show  that  the  schoolroom  is  comfortable. 

To  show  that  the  schoolroom  is  well  equiped  for  its  uses,  etc. 

But  developing  this  subject  from  the  point  of  view  of  a 
lecturer,  we  might  use  none  of  these,  selecting  rather  more 
appropriate  ones  in  keeping  with  our  new  point  of  view; 
i.  e., 

To  show  that  the  acoustics  are  good, 

To  show  that  the  seating  plan  or  arrangement  of  the  room  is 

good. 
To  show  that  the  lighting  is  poor, 

etc. 

And  if  we  were  writing  on  "Our  Schoolroom"  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  school  physician,  we  should  be  obliged 
to  readjust  our  purpose  again,  perhaps  tO'  some  such  form 
as  this : 

To  show  that  the  ventilation  is  defective. 
To  show  that  the  desks  are  too  small, 
etc. 

We  see  then  that,  given  a  single  title,  we  may  have 
many  compositions,  as  many  indeed  as  we  may  have  pur- 
poses in  writing  about  the  subject  suggested.  Our  purpose 
in  writing  about  a  certain  subject  is  to  show  or  to  prove 
some  particular  thing  about  that  subject,  to  limit  or  divide 


130  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

it,  and  thus  to  force  closer  concentration  upon  one  line  of 
thought.  Let  us  now  examine  a  few  partial  plans  made 
for  the  same  subject,  but  with  different  points  of  view  and 
purposes : 

SINGING 

Point  of  View — Student  of  singing 

Purpose — To  show  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome 

I.     The  early  exercises 

1.  Numerous 

2.  Unmusical 

3.  Monotonous 
4. 

II.     The  constant  practice 
*"  I.  Enslaving 

2.  Exhausting 

3- 

4- 

III.  The  wide  field  of  study 

1.  Language 

a.  Italian 

b.  German 

c.  French 

d.  English 

2.  Music 

a.  Opera 

b.  Lyric 

c.  Concert 

d.  Old  and  new  masters 
e. 

f. 

IV.  The  expense 

1.  Instruction 

2.  Dress 


or 


POINT    OF   VIEW   AND    PURPOSE  131 

3.  Music  and  instruments 

4.  Travel 

5. 
6. 

The  rewards 

1.  Pleasant  to  please 

2.  Refining  and  cultural 

3.  Financial 
4. 

s. 


SINGING 

Point  of  View — Listener 

Purpose — To  show  the  many  good  effects  of  singing 

I.     It  soothes  our  nerves 
I. 
2. 
3. 

II.     It  comforts  in  sorrow 

I.  • 

2. 

III.  It  purifies  our  natures 

I. 
2. 

IV.  It  lifts  us  above  the  world 

I. 
2. 

3- 

4. 

V.     It  leads  us  to  better  things 
I. 
2. 


or 


132  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

SINGING 

Point  of  View — The  famous  singer 
Purpose — To  show  the  delights  of  singing 

I.     Giving  pleasure  to  others 
I. 
2. 

3- 

II.     Giving  help  to  others 
I. 

2. 

III.  Interpreting  great  characters 

I. 
2. 

IV.  Thrilling  o-reat  audiences 

I. 
2. 

3. 

V.     Studying  different  effects  of  singing 
I. 
2. 

VI.     Receiving  approval 
I. 
2. 

3. 

Some  very  serious  warnings  are  necessary  in  connection 
with  determining  upon  a  purpose  in  composition  writing : 

( I )  We  must  be  careful  not  to  take  a  too  general  pur- 
pose ;  one,  that  is,  that  is  too  much  like  the  subject,  or  that 
does  not  sufficiently  limit  it ;  for  example : — 

Title — John's  Escape. 

Point  of  view — That  of  an  on-looker. 

Purpose — To  show  how  John  escaped. 


POINT   OF   VIEW   AND    PURPOSE  133 

The  purpose  here  is  practically  the  same  as  the  title.  Ob- 
viously, if  we  are  going  to  write  about  John's  escape,  we 
shall  tell  hozif  he  escaped.  No  sooner  did  our  reader  see 
the  title  than  he  surmised  that  he  would  be  told  how  John 
escaped.  It  will  bore  him  therefore  to  read  that  our  pur- 
pose is  to  show  how  John  escaped,  and  we  should  not  blame 
him  very  much  if  he  refused  to  read  any  further.  But 
perhaps  he  would  be  interested  if  we  were  to  show  John's 
bravery,  or  to  prove  John's  thoughtfulness,  or  to  point  out 
how  cleverly  John  avoided  a  mean  trick  that  had  been 
planned  for  him.  These  would  be  much  better  purposes 
and  much  more  interesting,  not  only  to  read  about,  but  to 
write  about,  as  well.  Let  us  avoid  therefore  making  a  re- 
statement of  our  title  in  our  purpose. 

(2)  When  a  title  contains  a  proper  name  we  shall 
often  find  ourselves  inclined  to  refer  our  purpose  to  some 
definite  aim  that  the  subject  has  in  mind,  rather  than  to 
something  that  we  have  in  mind  about  the  subject.  In 
''John's  Escape",  for  instance,  our  purpose  is  the  thing  to 
be  borne  in  mind  by  us.  We  must  show  something — 
bravery,  thoughtfulness,  cleverness — about  John.  We  must 
not  state  John's  purpose.  We  must  not  write  anything  like 
the  following  as  a  purpose : — 

To  get  out  of  the  burning  building, 
To  save  his  life, 
To  escape  a  ducking. 

Any  one  of  these  may  have  been  John's  purpose,  but  John 
is  not  writing  this  composition.  We,  who  are  writing  it, 
must  set  up  some  definite  characteristic  displayed  by  John 
when  he  got  out  of  the  burning  building,  or  when  he  saved 
his  life,  or  when  he  escaped  a  ducking.  We  must  never 
forget  that  this  matter  of  purpose  is  personal  to   us;  it 


134  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

represents  our  aim  to  show  some  particular  thing  about  the 
subject. 

(3)  None  of  us  would  ever  seriously  state  that  our 
purpose  is  to  write  a  composition.  We  may  have  heard  of 
this  being  done  for  humorous  reasons,  and  we  know  well 
enough  that  our  primary  purpose  is  tO'  write  a  composition. 
Let  us  not  waste  our  time,  however,  even  for  the  sake  of 
such  a  commendable  thing  as  humor,  by  saying  that  our 
purpose  is : 

To  write  a  composition,  or 

To  make  somebody  miserable,  or 

To  get  a  good  mark,  etc. 

And  we  should  also  remember  in  this  connection  that,  when 
we  are  writing  compositions,  titles  for  which  are  based  upon 
reading  that  we  have  been  doing,  we  are  justified  in  hold- 
ing ourselves  to  the  purpose  of  the  original  if  we  have  been 
careful  to  study  that  out.  In  making  a  deductive  outline, 
for  instance,  we  should  state  the  point  of  view  and  the  pur- 
pose of  the  author  of  the  original.  This  is  a  part  of  our 
work  and  we  may  depend  upon  it,  that  the  author  whom  we 
are  studying  had  a  very  clear  and  definite  purpose  to 
follow. 

EXERCISE 

I.  State  as  many  points  of  view  and  purposes  as 
you  can  for  each  of  the  following.  Then  make  an  outline 
for  one  title,  point  of  view  and  purpose : 

Our  Streets 
Jim's  Adventure 
Our  School  Building 
The  Automobile 
Rowing 


POINT   OF   VIEW    AND    PURPOSE  135 

II.  Criticise  the  following  purposes,  substitute  bet- 
ter ones,  and  plan  a  composition  for  each : — 

a.  Tom's  Anger 

To  show  how  angry  Tom  can  get 

b.  My  Trip  to  School 

To  show  how  I  go  to  school 

c.  Prince's  Faithfulness 

To  show  how  faithful  Prince  is 

d.  The  Alarm 

To  warn  people  of  robbery 

e.  The  Great  Bridge 

To  enable  people  to  cross  the  river 

III.  Take  all  the  illustrative  plans  in  the  chapters 
previous  to  this  one  and  state  point  of  view  and  purpose  for 
each. 

IV.  Make  four  plans  for  the  following  title,  using 
the  different  points  of  view  and  purposes  given  in  suc- 
cessive plans : — 

OUR  CITY  PARK 

a.  Point  of  view  of  ordinary  citizen 
Purpose — To  show  the  pleasures  it  affords 

b.  Point  of  view  of  visitor 
Purpose — To  show  its  beauties 

c.  Point  of  view  of  physician 
Purpose — To  show  its  benefits 

d.  Point  of  view  of  caretakers 

Purpose — To  show  the  carelessness  of  the  people 

V.  John  arrived  at  school  late  this  morning  after 
an  absence  of  a  week.  Not  having  a  note  to  excuse  his  ab- 
sence and  tardiness,  he  was  sent  home  for  it,  returning  to 
school  at  noon. 


136  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

Make  outlines  of  compositions  you  would  write : 

a.  from  John's  point  of  view, 

b.  from  the  teacher's  point  of  view, 

c.  from  John's  mother's  point  of  view. 

VI.  Draw  up  plans  explaining  your  daily  program 
to  a  classmate;  to  your  father;  to  a  friend  in  another  city. 
State  purpose  and  point  of  view  of  each.  Explain  the  dif- 
ferences among  your  three  plans  and  tell  why  they  are 
necessary. 

VII.  State  both  personal  and  impersonal  points  of 
view  and  purpose  for  each  of  the  following: — 

The  House  in  Which  I  Live 

The  Sunset 

The  Pay-as-you-enter  Car 

Our  Largest  Hotel 

The  Lake  in  Early  Morning 

VIII.  Make  plans  for  the  lives  of  three  widely  differ- 
ent men  of  whom  you  have  read.  Explain  how  these  plans 
differ  from  one  another  and  why  that  difference  is  neces- 
sary. 

IX.     Outline  the  life  of  a  great  author  in  three  ways. 
X.     Make  a  deductive  plan  of  some  passage  in  His- 
tory or  Biology,  or  other  subject  (except  English)  that  you 
have  recently  studied.     Be  sure  to  state  point  of  view  and 
purpose. 

XL  Make  a  detailed  study  plan  of  this  chapter,  stat- 
ing point  of  view  and  purpose. 

XII.  Complete  the  partial  plans  presented  under 
"Purpose"  by  inserting  as  many  subordinate  topics  as  you 
can  think  of. 


CHAPTER    VIII 

THE  LETTER  PLAN 

It  may  seem  little  short  of  absurd  for  us  to  consider 
planning  in  connection  with  letter-writing.  We  are  so  ac- 
customed to  sitting  down  and  writing  our  letters  spon- 
taneously and  rapidly,  that  we  are  inclined  to  think  that  a 
planned  letter  would  be  artificial  and  mechanical,  that  it 
would  not  ring  quite  true.  Yet,  there  is  probably  no  type 
of  composition  that  suffers  more  as  a  result  of  failure  to 
plan  than  letter-writing.  We  do  not  mean  of  course  that 
an  elaborate  plan  should  be  made  for  the  average  letter. 
Considered  proportionately  the  plan  for  a  letter  need  not 
be  nearly  so  detailed  as  that  for  a  composition,  unless  it 
be  a  long  advertising  or  circular  letter  we  are  writing.  But 
all  of  our  business  and  social  letters  should  be  well  thought 
out  in  advance  of  writing;  the  points  we  desire  to  make 
should  be  set  down  consecutively  on  a  piece  of  paper,  or 
should  be  strictly  so  kept  in  mind  while  writing.  How 
often  have  we  read  letters  (if  not  written  them  ourselves) 
in  which  two  or  more  sentences  bearing  on  the  same  gen- 
eral subject  were  separated  by  sentences  bearing  upon  to- 
tally different  points!  And  how  often  have  we  read  and 
written  letters  to  which  a  postscript  was  added, — that  con- 
fession in  black  and  white  to  a  haphazard  and  confused  habit 
of  thinking.  If  we  consult  some  business  men  of  our  ac- 
quaintance and  ask  them  how  much  time  is  wasted,  how 
much  money  is  lost,  as  a  result  of  unorganized  and  thus 
misunderstood  letters,  we  shall  be  appalled  at  their  reply. 
The  least,  then,  that  we  can  do  when  writing  a  letter,  out  of 

137 


138 


COMPOSITION    PLANNING 


courtesy  to  the  reader,  is  to  have  some  good  plan  in  mind, 
however  general  it  may  be,  and  to  follow  it  unwaveringly. 
If  we  think  that  we  do  not  owe  this  to  ourselves,  we  must 
consider  that  we  have  an  obligation  to  the  person  by  whom 
the  letter  is  to  be  read. 

Letters,  as  we  have  probably  studied  before,  may  be 
classified  as  follows : — 

I  Invitations 
Formal     J  Acceptances 
I  Regrets 
Announcements 


Letters 


Informal 


Social 


Commercial 


Acquaintances 

Friends 

Relatives 

f  Business 
\  Newspaper 
[  Circular 


Of  the  first  group — Formal  Letters — we  shall  say  but  little 
and  observe  much.  On  the  pages  immediately  following 
are  illustrations  of  all  kinds  of  formal  notes.  If  we  ob- 
serve them  closely,  under  the  direction  of  our  instructor,  we 
shall  see  that : 

1.  they  are  very  short, 

2.  they  are  written  in  the  third  person, 

3.  they  vary  in  order  of  contents, 

4.  they  omit  any  such  beginning  as  "My  dear  Sir", 

5.  they  omit  any  such   closing  as  "Yours  truly", 

6.  they  frequently  have  dates  and  street  numbers  written 

out, 

7.  they  are  sometimes  undated,  except  in  so  far  as  dates 

occur  within   the  note, 

8.  they  vary   in   style   of   writing,    in   marginal   arrange- 

ment, etc., 

9.  they  may  omit  place  of  residence  of  sender, 
10.  they  may  omit  place  of  residence  of  recipient, 


THE   LETTER   PLAN  139 

11.  they  are  capitalized  irregularly, 

12.  they  frequently  contain  the  letters,  R.  S.  V.  P.    (please 

reply,  in  French),  in  the  lower  right  hand  corner. 

The  following  indicate  the  style  to  be  used  for  formal 
notes,  announcements  and  invitations : 


Mrs.  James  Everett  requests  the  pleasure  of 
Miss  Hepburn^ s  company  at  dinner  on  Tuesday, 
May  the  third,  at  seven  o^clock. 


20  Carlton  Place, 
April  the  twenty-sixth. 


Miss  Hepburn  regrets  that  a  previous  engagement 
prevents  her  accepting  Mrs.  Everett^ s  kind  invita- 
tion to  dinner  on  Tuesday,  May  the  third,  at 
seven  o^clock. 


4  Trent  Avenue, 
April  thirtieth. 


140  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 


Miss  Hepburn 

accepts  with  pleasure  Mrs, 

Ever- 

eWs  kind    invitation  to  dinner  on 

Tuesday,  May 

the  third,  at  seven  o'clock. 

4  Trent  Avenue, 

April  thirtieth. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  H.  Kehoe 

announce  the  marriage  of  their  daughter 

May  Estelle 

to 

Mr.  Carl  St.  John  Fourton 

on  Monday  the  twenty-third  of  December 

nineteen  hundred  and  eight 

New  York 


THE   LETTER    PLAN  141 


Mr.  6*  Mrs.  Joseph  Benson  Foraker 
request  the  honor  of 

company  at  the  wedding  breakfast  of  their  daughter 

Julia 

and 

Mr.  Francis  King  Wainwright 

on  Wednesday  the  eighth  of  January 

at  half  after  twelve  0^ clock 

Fifteen  hundred  Sixteenth  Street 

Washington 


Mr.  Clarence  Aaron  Britton 

Miss  Mary  Blanche  Ferris 

Married 

Saturday,  the  ninth  of  November 

one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  eight 

New  York  City 


142  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 


At  Home 

Tuesday  the  twenty-first  of  November 

5J  Quincy  Place,  N.  £. 


requests  the  pleasure  of 
company 


o^clock 


R.  S.  V.  P. 


Mr,  and  Mrs.  Charles  William  Clinton 
request  the  pleasure  of 


company  at.. 
on — 


at^. 0^  clock 

jg  East  ^yth  Street 


THE   LETTER   PLAN  143 

As  a  rule  these  notes,  in  our  modern  times,  are  en- 
graved by  the  stationers.  Blank  spaces  are  left  in  them 
for  the  insertion  by  hand  of  such  details  as  dates,  events, 
places,  etc.  (see  illustrations  on  previous  pages).  This 
simplifies  matters  considerably.  We  are  saved  from  social 
blunders  in  this  line  by  the  ingenuity  of  our  stationer. 
Leaving  the  stationer  out  of  the  question,  however,  it  is 
rarely  that  we  are  called  upon  to  write  such  formal  notes  as 
those  here  reproduced.  Usually  our  invitations  are  from 
some  one  with  whom  we  are  sufficiently  well  acquainted  to 
permit  us  to  write  our  replies  informally.  In  case  we  do 
write  formal  notes  we  should  be  careful  to  keep  the  person 
consistently  third.  It  would  be  very  bad  form  indeed  to 
write  a  closing,  such  as  ''Yours  truly'',  to  a  formal  note. 
If  we  observe  these  examples  most  closely  we  shall  have 
guidance  for  good  form  always  in  writing  such  formal 
notes  as  we  are  called  upon  to  write.  We  should  not  neg- 
lect the  study  of  them  even  though  we  may  have  occasion 
but  rarely  to  write  such  things.  We  can  never  tell  when 
we  shall  have  to  meet  an  emergency  in  this  very  line  of 
writing. 

With  Informal  Letters  it  is  another  story.  We  are 
called  upon  almost  daily  to  write  informal  letters  of  one 
kind  or  another;  and  there  is  no  form  of  composition  in 
which  we  should  take  so  much  pride  and  care  as  in  these. 
They  represent  us.  We  are  what  our  letters  indicate  that 
we  are.  If  we  read  a  man's  letter  we  can  in  most  cases 
get  a  considerable  insight  into  his  character.  We  must 
therefore  dwell  at  some  length  upon  informal  letters  of  the 
various  types,  studying  their  form,  their  phraseology,  and 
their  arrangement. 

The  parts  of  a  letter — the  divisions  into  which  it  falls — 
and  the  sequence  of  these  parts  are  as  follows : — 


144  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

I.     The  heading 

1.  Address  of  writer 

2.  Date 

11.     The    address    of    person    to    whom    letter    is    written 
(often  placed  below  VII.  to  the  left) 

1.  His  name 

2.  His  address 

HI.     The  salutation 

1.  ''My  dear   Sir" 

2.  "Dear  John" 

etc. 

IV.     The  body  of  the  letter 

(The  letter  proper) 

V.     The  participial  closing  (optional) 

1.  The  subject 

2.  The  punctuation 

VI.     The  complimentary  closing 

1.  ''Yours  sincerely" 

2.  "Faithfully  yours" 

etc. 

VII.     The  signature 

I.  Full  name  of  the  writer 

This  is  the  general  plan  or  outline  of  all  the  informal 
letters  we  shall  have  to  write.  There  are  minor  modifica- 
tions which  we  shall  note  in  due  course,  but,  generally 
speaking,  all  letters  should  follow  this  plan.  We  may  learn 
here  that  Point  II  may  stand  last  in  our  letter  if  we  prefer; 
that  is,  the  name  and  address  of  the  recipient  of  the  letter 
may  be  placed  at  the  end  of  the  letter  on  the  left-hand  side, 
beginning  on  the  line  just  below  the  signature.  Of  course 
the  bulk  of  any  informal  letter — the  largest  proportion  of 
it — will  be  given  to  Point  IV.  It  is  here  that  we  state  our 
purpose  in  writing  the  letter  and  negotiate  our  business,  if 
we  happen  to  be  writing  a  business  letter. 


THE    LETTER    PLAN 


145 


The  form  in  which  these  parts  should  be  placed  on  the 
paper  can  best  be  shown  by  producing  a  sample  letter  and 
drawing  lines  through  it  to  indicate  margins,  etc.  We 
should  study  this  illustration  with  the  explanation  that  fol- 
lows very  minutely  indeed.  It  is  the  model  on  which  we 
shall  have  much  subsequent  work  to  do : — 

(B)  (D) 
(F) 


(A) 


(E) 


Mr.  James  Ferguson, 
30  Broadway, 

New  York  City- 
Dear    Mr.    Ferguson:— 


Dec.  26,  we  beg  to  thank 
assure  you  that  it  will  be 
forwarded  by  the  United 
and  should  reach  you  tom- 
any  errors  made  in  filling 
shipment,  we  shall  estee 
immediately,  so  that  we 

your  further  patronage, 
(G) 


In  r 

you 

fille 

Sta 

orro 

the 

m  it 

may 

Tha 

we  a 

Sine 


Lenox  Avenue, 
New  York  City,  N.  Y., 
Dec.  31,  1910. 


]" 


zim 


eply  to  your  communication  of 
for  your  generous  order  and  to 
d  at  once.  The  goods  will  be 
tes  Express  Company  to-day 
w  morning.  If  there  has  been 
order,  or  any  damage  done  in 
a  courtesy  if  you  will  notify  us 
have  the  matter  rectified, 
nking  you  again,  and  soliciting 
re  _ 


IV 


V 


erely  yours, 


D  VI 


J.  C.  Evans  and  Company.       I]  VII 


On  the  right-hand  side  of  this  specimen  letter  we  have 
bracketed  and  numbered  the  parts  corresponding  to  the  num- 
bers used  in  the  outline  of  the  parts  of  a  letter. 

Line  A  indicates  the  left-hand  margin  which  we  know 
should  never  be  omitted  from  any  piece  of  writing  that 
we  do. 

Line  B  is  the  middle  margin;  the  margin  on  which  are 
begun  the  heading,  the  paragraphs  of  the  letter,  and  the 
complimentary  dosing.     It  may  not  always  be  possible  to 


146 


COMPOSITION    PLANNING 


make  the  paragraph  margin  one  and  the  same  with  the  mar- 
gin for  the  heading  and  the  complimentary  closing.  It  is 
better  to  do  so  whenever  possible,  for  it  simplifies  our  letter 
construction.  Too  many  margins,  or  too  many  places  where 
lines  begin  independently  of  each  other,  spoil  the  appearance 
of  a  letter  and  confuse  the  eye  at  once  on  our  looking  at  the 
letter  page.  The  first  paragraph  should  begin  immediately 
after  (as  frequently  in  business  letters),  or  immediately 
after  and  under,  the  salutation.  In  case  the  salutation  is 
short  it  will  not  be  possible  to  do  this  and  at  the  same 
time  keep  the  middle  margin  common  to  paragraphs,  head- 
ing, and  closing.  We  are  then  justified  in  establishing  two 
middle  margins, — one  for  paragraphs  and  another  for  the 
heading  and  the  closing ;  thus : — 


(F) 


(C)  (D) 


(E) 


(A) 


Mr.  James  F 
30  Broa 
New 
Dear  Sir: 


(B) 


erguson, 
dway, 
York  City. 

In  reply  to  your,  e 


Thanking  you,  etc. 
(G) 


Lenox  Avenue, 
New  York  City, 
Dec.  31,  1910. 


tc. 


Sine 


erely  yours, 

J.  C,  Evans  and  Company. 


THE   LETTER    PLAN  147 

Here  as  a  result  of  the  brief  salutation,  it  has  been  neces- 
sary to  establish  a  separate  paragraph  margin  at  which 
not  only  the  first  paragraph  but  all  that  follow  should  begin. 
We  have  in  other  words  moved  margin  B  slightly  to  the  left 
and  inserted  margin  C. 

Line   D   represents   the   margin   supplementary   to  the 
heading  and  complimentary  closing  margin. 

Lines  E,  F,  and  G  are  drawn  to  show  that  these  reced- 
ing margins  should  be  regularly  receding;  that  is,  each  line 
should  begin  at  a  uniform  distance  to  the  right  of  the 
preceding  one.  Sometimes  we  read  or  hear  it  said  that  in 
addresses  the  right-hand  side  should  be  even  at  whatever 
expense  of  irregularity  on  the  left  side,  but  this  is  a  mistake. 
Not 

200  Lenox  Avenue, 
New  York  City, 
Dec.    31,   1910. 
but 

200  Lenox  Avenue, 

New  York  City, 

Dec.  31,  1910. 

is  a  better  arrangement  in  headings,  addresses  and  closings. 
This  direction  holds  quite  as  well  for  the  address  on  the 
envelope  as  for  that  within  the  letter.  Of  course  if  we 
can  so  arrange  it  as  to  have  a  regularly  diagonal  margin  on 
the  left  and  a  regularly  perpendicular  one  on  the  right,  it 
will  be  the  best  arrangement  of  all.  But  this  will  probably 
not  often  be  possible  for  us. 

John  J.  James,  Esq., 

125    Hilary  St., 

Chicago,  III. 

Now  let  us  take  up  separately  each  part  of  our  illustra- 
tive letter  and  examine  the  punctuation  and  whatever  other 


148  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

details  it  may  be  necessary  to  examine.  It  is  becoming  more 
and  more  the  fashion  to  omit  punctuation  from  headings 
and  addresses  in  letters,  all,  that  is,  but  the  period  after 
abbreviations.  This  is  quite  right  provided  we  are  con- 
sistent in  the  matter  and  omit  it  in  all  places  if  v^e  omit  it 
in  one.  The  trouble  is,  we  shall  find  ourselves  punctuating 
sometimes  and  not  at  others,  if  we  are  not  exceedingly 
watchful,  and  this  of  course  will  result  in  bad  form.  We 
are  assuming  in  this  chapter  that  the  long-established  cus- 
tom of  punctuating  is  still  to  be  used. 

First,  let  us  look  again  at  the  heading  of  our  letter, — 

200  Lenox  Ave., 

New  York  City,  N.  Y., 
Dec.  31,  1910. 

We  understand  that  all  abbreviations  must  be  followed  by 
a  period.  We  are  not  always  careful  however  to  separate 
the  different  phrases  of  our  headings  by  means  of  commas. 
We  may  have  learned  that  the  comma  is  used  to  denote  the 
omission  of  a  word  or  a  phrase.  This  is  true  in  many 
cases  of  its  use.  It  is  true  also  in  the  heading  and  in  the 
address  of  a  letter.  Properly  expanded  this  heading  would 
read  as  follows : — 

Written  at  200  Lenox  Avenue  in  New  York  City  on  Dec.  31 
during  19 10. 

Our  commas  therefore  stand  for  certain  omitted  words, 
and  perhaps  we  shall  be  less  likely  to  forget  them  if  we 
understand  exactly  what  they  stand  for.  It  sometimes  hap- 
pens that  we  see  a  heading  arranged  in  this  way : — 


200  Lenox  Ave., 

(I) 

Dec.  31,  1910, 

(2) 

New  York  City. 

(3) 

THE   LETTER   PLAN  149 

This  IS  bad  because  we  have  confused  our  sequence.  Lines 
(i)  and  (3)  both  indicate  places  that  are  related  to  one 
another.  Line  (2)  represents  time.  It  will  occur  to  us  at 
once  that  it  is  a  good  deal  better  to  keep  the  lines  referring 
to  places  immediately  sequential,  and  following  (or  pre- 
ceding them,  if  we  choose)  with  reference  to  time.  If  we 
are  using  business  stationery  for  our  correspondence,  this 
point,  as  we  well  enough  know,  is  settled  for  us.  Here 
the  only  thing  we  have  to  do  is  to  insert  the  date.  The 
whole  heading  occupies  many  printed  lines  or  sometimes 
but  a  single  line,  as 

200  Lenox  Ave.,  New  York  City,  N.  Y.,  .191     . 

Oftentimes  also  the  following  heading  is  used,  having 
an  equal  diagonal  margin  on  both  sides : — 

200  Lenox  Avenue, 
New  York  City,  May  12,  1912. 

The  punctuation  and  the  sequence  however  remain  the 
same.  It  is  allowable  and  preferable  for  us  of  course  to 
reduce  the  number  of  lines  in  the  heading  whenever  possible. 
Here  in  the  business  letter  we  have  it  reduced  to  its  sim- 
plest form.  We  can  rarely  have  fewer  than  two  lines,  how- 
ever, in  headings  of  our  own  writing.  Frequently  we  may 
need  four : — 

200  Lenox  Ave.,  New  York, 
Dec.  31,  1910. 

or 

"The  Continental", 
200  Lenox  Ave., 
New  York  City, 
Dec.  31,  1910. 


150  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

The  address  which  follows  next,  but  which  we  said 
might  be  placed  at  the  lower  left-hand  corner  of  the  letter 
commencing  on  the  line  immediately  following  the  signa- 
ture, is  punctuated  in  the  same  way  as  the  heading,  a  comma 
being  placed  at  the  end  of  each  line  or  part.  Here  again 
a  word  may  always  be  substituted  for  it : — 

Mr.  James  Ferguson  at  30  Broadway  in  New  York  City. 

And  here  also,  if  we  can  reduce  the  address  to  two  lines, 
we  may  do  so. 

The  following  salutations  are  all  used  in  commercial  cor- 
respondence. They  are  arranged  from  the  more  to  the  less 
dignified.  We  should  notice  carefully  the  capitalization  and 
the  punctuation  in  each  example : — 

(i)   Sir:  (or  Sirs:)  Madam:  (or  Ladies:) 

(2)  Honorable  Sir: 

(3)  Gentlemen: —  Mesdames: —  (or  Ladies: — ) 

(4)  Dear  Sir —  Dear  Madam — 
(or  Dear  Sirs — ) 

(5)  My  dear  Sir: —  My  Dear  Madam: — 
(or  My  Dear  Sirs: — ) 

(6)  My  dear  Mr.  Oliver,  My  dear  Mrs.  Oliver, 
(or  My  Dear  Mr.  Oliver,) 

No.  (2)  is  a  salutation  to  be  used  in  writing  to  the  Mayor 
of  a  city  or  to  some  man  in  high  public  position.  In  (5) 
and  (6)  the  adjective  may  or  may  not  be  capitalized.  It 
used  to  be  considered  improper  to  capitalize  it,  but  usage 
has  rapidly  justified  its  capitalization. 

In  social  letters  the  following  salutations  may  be  used, 
according  to  the  relations  existing  between  the  parties  con- 
cerned in  the  letter.  These  are  also  arranged  from  the 
more  to  the  less  dignified : — 


THE   LETTER   PLAN  151 

(i)  My  dear  Mr.  French: — (or  i^ear) 

(2)  Dear  John, — 

(3)  Dear  Uncle  Ned, 

(4)  My  dear  Sister — (or  i^ear) 

(5)  Dear  Mother, 

(6)  Dear  Miss  Evans: 

(i)  is  used  in  writing  to  a  friend  or  an  acquaintance;  (2) 
to  a  friend;  (3),  (4),  and  (5),  to  relatives.  We  see  that 
there  is  a  very  wide  variety  of  choice  in  the  matter  of  punc- 
tuation at  the  end  of  the  salutation.  We  may  use  any  of 
the  following: — 

(Comma)    (comma  and  dash)    (colon)    (colon  and  dash)    (dash) 
,  ,  .  . 

5  4123 

and  it  makes  very  little  difference  which  one  of  these  we 
use.  Any  one  may  be  used  under  any  circumstances  with 
any  form  of  salutation,  in  spite  of  the  tradition  that  they 
rank  from  formal  to  informal  as  they  are  numbered  above. 
The  curious  fact  is  that,  having  such  a  wide  range  of  choice, 
we  SO'  frequently  discard  them  all  and  use  the  semicolon  or 
the  period, — ( ;)  or  (.) — the  only  ones  of  our  common 
marks  that  we  should  not  use.  To  use  either  the  semicolon 
or  the  period  after  the  salutation  stamps  one  as  illiterate. 

The  body  of  the  letter  will  be  discussed  fully  a  page  or 
two  further  on  when  we  come  to  study  the  letter  plan 
proper.  Suffice  it  now  to  say  that  we  should  here,  as  in  a 
regular  composition,  paragraph  our  material;  that,  while  it 
is  not  at  all  improper  to  start  a  letter  with  the  pronoun  "I" 
and  to  use  it  within  the  letter,  yet  we  should  avoid  its  use 
wherever  possible,  just  as  we  do  with  a  becoming  modesty 
in  all  of  our  writing  and  conversation ;  and  that,  when  we 
conclude  the  body  of  our  letter  with  a  participial  phrase 


152  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

(the  participial  complimentary  closing),  we  should  be  care- 
ful to  have  a  word  for  that  phrase  to  modify : — 

"Hoping  to  hear  from  you  soon,  I  am 

Sincerely  yours," 

Here  we  have  a  complete  sentence,  the  subject  being  "I" ; 
the  predicate,  ''am'' ;  the  attribute,  ''yours''.  "I"  is  modi- 
fied by  the  participle  "hoping".  "Am"  is  not  followed  by 
a  comma  because  it  has  an  attribute  complement  belonging 
to  it  on  the  line  below.  "John  is  good"  is  a  sentence  having 
the  same  kind  of  construction  as  "I  am  yours",  only  it  is 
written  entirely  on  one  line  instead  of  on  two.  We  would 
not  think  of  placing  a  comma  after  "is",  but  we  frequently 
make  the  mistake  of  placing  one  after  "am"  in  such  cases 
as  the  above.  If  we  are  sure  to  understand  this  grammati- 
cal structure  we  will  readily  see  how  illiterate  the  following 
appears : — 

"Hoping  to  hear  from  you   soon, 

Sincerely  yours," 

In  connection  with  the  participial  complimentary  closing  it 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  somewhat  popular 

"Thanking  you  in  advance  for  the  courtesy,  I  remain 

Sincerely  yours," 

is  no  longer  considered  good  form,  if  it  ever  was.  It  is  lit- 
tle short  of  presumption  to  write  a  letter  asking  for  a  favor 
and  then  to  conclude  it  with  thanks  in  advance.  "Thanking 
in  advance"  smacks  something  too  much  of  the  spirit  of 
forcing,  of  epistolary  bribery,  of  an  attempt  to  force  the 
reader  by  a  studied  courtesy  into  granting  our  request.  Of 
course  we  should  always  be  polite  in  our  letters,  but  never 
at  the  risk  of  being  thought  presumptuous.     "I  remain"  is 


THE    LETTER    PLAN  153 

good  form  only  when  we  have  had  previous  communication 
with  the  person  to  whom  we  are  writing.  We  cannot  re- 
main sincere  to  a  person  with  whom  we  have  as  yet  had  no 
relations.  Such  a  closing  might  very  properly  be  used  in 
a  letter  to  our  brothers  or  sisters  or  friends ;  but  to  compara- 
tive strangers  ''I  am"  is  a  much  more  fitting  conclusion. 

So  much  for  the  participial  phrase  which  so  often  pref- 
aces the  complimentary  closing  of  our  letters.  Let  us  now 
look  at  the  complimentary  closing  itself.  This  should 
always  be  followed  with  a  comma,  because,  grammatically, 
it  is  in  apposition  with  the  signature  which  immediately  fol- 
lows. Even  where  the  complimentary  close  consists  of  but 
a  single  adverb,  as  in  no.  5  below,  the  comma  should  be 
used,  for  "yours''  is  understood  after  it,  though  not  ex- 
pressed. If  we  are  sure  to  understand  the  grammatical 
construction  of  this  part,  as  in  the  participial  closing,  we 
shall  probably  not  go  very  far  wrong  in  our  punctuation. 
The  first  word  only  in  the  complimentary  closing  should  be 
capitalized : — 

(i)   Sincerely  your  friend, 

(2)  Ever  faithfully  yours, 

(3)  Truly  yours, 

(4)  Yours  truly, 

(5)  Cordially, 

(6)  Your  sister, 

(7)  Respectfully  yours. 

In  every  case  the  complimentary  closing  should  be  fol- 
lowed by  the  full  signature  of  the  writer.  As  a  rule  this  is 
not  done  in  social  letters.  We  feel  that  we  are  on  terms 
of  such  intimate  standing  with  the  one  to  whom  we  are 
writing  that  we  can  properly  sign  our  first  names  only,  or 
some  pet  name  perhaps.  The  chief  reason  for  writing  the 
full  signature  is  that,  in  case  the  letter  gets  lost  or  severed 


154  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

from  the  envelope,  it  can  be  returned  to  the  writer.  If 
however  we  have  been  careful  to  inclose  the  address  of  the 
one  to  whom  we  are  writing,  we  may  think  this  precaution 
unnecessary.  But  we  are  usually  careless  also  about  writing 
the  addresses  of  our  friends  in  our  letters  to  them.  In  any 
event,  we  should  be  careful  to  have  some  guidance  within 
the  letter  for  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  forward  or  return 
strayed  or  missent  letters. 

In  addressing  the  envelopes  for  our  letters,  we  should 
adopt  the  diagonal  margin  with  care,  though  more  and  more 
the  vertical  margin  is  being  adopted  by  business  houses 
largely  as  a  matter  of  typing  convenience.  We  should 
punctuate  at  the  end  of  every  line,  or  we  should  omit  punc- 
tuation everywhere;  we  should  precede  the  name  with  Mr. 
or  Mrs.  or  Miss,  etc.,  as  the  case  may  be.  If  writing  to 
professional  or  public  people  we  should  prefix  the  proper 
title  to  their  names;  such  as.  Dr.  or  Rev.  or  Hon.  or  Prof., 
etc.  Englishmen  use  Esq.  after  the  name  instead  of  Mr. 
before  it.  Never  however  should  we  use  both  a  title  before 
and  a  title  after  the  name  in  an  address.  The  examples 
that  follow,  if  studied  closely,  will  probably  be  found  suffi- 
cient to  meet  all  our  needs : — 

John  Blank,  Esq.,  Mrs.  Everett  P.   Walsh, 

20  Strand,  2001  Michigan  Ave., 

London,  Chicago,  111. 
England. 

Dr.  A.  J.  Vaughan,  Messrs.  Block  Bros., 

91  Halsey  Street,  28  State  Street, 

Brooklyn,  Chicago,  III. 
New  York. 

The  Rev.  A.  C.  Ely,  Mr.  J.   S.   Crawford, 

"The  Maples",  125  Broadway, 

Forest  Grove,  New  York. 
Penna. 


THE   LETTER   PLAN  155 

So  much  then  for  the  mere  form  in  letter-writing.  After 
all,  our  best  instruction  in  all  of  this  must  come  by  closely 
observing  actual  letters  as  sent  out  by  people  who  are  en- 
gaged in  writing  letters  a  great  deal,  and  by  our  own 
practice.  We  have  studied  here  one  good  form  to  follow  in 
all  our  correspondence.  There  are  perhaps  many  others 
quite  as  good,  but  let  us  heed  the  advice  here  given  until 
we  are  sure  that  we  are  masters  of  it.  There  is  no  depart- 
ment of  writing  so  subject  to  the  whims  of  style  or  fashion 
as  that  of  letter-writing.  There  is  no  end  of  fads  in  con- 
nection with  the  addressing  of  envelopes,  the  writing  of 
headings,  the  style  of  stationery,  etc.  It  is  better  never 
to  become  ^'faddists''  in  anything  until  we  have  first  become 
masters  in  it.  Unfortunately  the  two  words  are  not  syno- 
nyms. If,  after  reading  a  letter  from  a  friend  we  can 
truthfully  say  of  it,  'Tt's  just  like  him  to  write  such  a  let- 
ter", we  have  paid  the  writer  a  high  compliment.  The  good 
letter  is  the  one  that  savors  most  sincerely  of  our  own  per- 
sonality. If  our  letters  are  ''like  us"  they  are  good  letters. 
But  in  order  to  make  them  most  like  us  when  we  are  at  our 
best,  we  should  meditate  upon  them  briefly  and  outline  them 
either  mentally  or  on  paper  before  writing  them. 

A  few  examples  of  brief  letter  plans  will  now  be  given 
in  order  that  we  may  grasp  the  idea  fully  before  proceeding 
to  plan  our  own  letters.  Suppose  some  young  man  is  going 
away  from  home  for  a  sojourn  of  a  few  weeks.  His 
parents  expect  him  to  write  them  immediately  upon  his 
arrival.  The  body  of  his  letter  might  be  planned  somewhat 
after  this  fashion : — 

1.  My  journey 

2.  My  arrival 

3.  My  location 

4.  My  good  wishes  for  all 


156  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

This,  briefly,  might  represent  the  table  of  contents  of  his 
letter.  He  may  combine  points  1-2-3  i^  the  first  paragraph, 
and  develop  point  4  in  a  brief  closing  one ;  or  he  may  make 
his  letter  longer  if  he  desires  to  do  so.  The  point  is  that 
some  such  plan  as  this,  decided  upon  before  he  commences 
to  write,  will  save  his  letter  from  confusion  by  giving  it  a 
natural  and  logical  sequence. 

After  he  has  been  at  the  place  for  a  fev\^  weeks  he  may 
plan  a  letter  to  one  of  his  fellows  somewhat  thus: — 

1.  Inquiries   after   all   friends 

2.  His  sports  and  pastimes 

3.  The  people  at  the  place 

4.  His  regards  to  all 

A  letter  to  his  mother  or  father,  to  his  sister  or  brother, 
should  follow  some  such  regular  line  of  development  as  that 
suggested  here.  He  should  search  his  mind  to  ascertain 
what  things  they  will  probably  want  to  hear  about, — perhaps 
the  place,  the  people,  the  pastimes;  he  should  by  no  means 
forget  his  good  wishes  for  the  people  at  home,  making  indi- 
vidual inquiry  about  particular  members  of  the  family;  if 
he  has  forgotten  anything  that  he  needs,  or  if  he  is  sending 
something  to  them,  he  should  arrange  such  material  in  a 
paragraph  by  itself. 

Now  this  general  direction  applies  as  easily  and  as 
pointedly  to  whatever  social  or  other  correspondence  we 
may  have  to  do.  If  we  have  taken  a  new  position,  we  might 
write  home  about 

1.  The  character  of  the  work 

2.  The  colleagues  in  the  work 

3.  The  impression  so  far 

4.  The  welfare  of  parents  and  others 

and  perhaps  many  other  things,  according  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  individual  case.     Moreover,  the  arrangement 


THE   LETTER   PLAN  157 

of  the  contents  of  a  letter  may  be  quite  arbitrary,  provided 
however  we  always  bear  in  mind  that  it  is  not  well  to  say 
too  much  of  ourselves,  at  least  at  the  very  outset.  It  is  a 
mark  of  courtesy  to  make  inquiry  after  the  affairs  and  health 
of  those  to  whom  we  are  writing,  early  in  the  letter,  though 
this  plan  is  not  often  followed.  We  usually  have  the  ques- 
tionable assurance  to  write  considerably  about  ourselves 
and  then  to  ''tag  on"  at  the  end  our  short  inquiries  and 
regards.  But,  after  all  is  said  and  done,  the  proper  thing 
is  to  arrange  our  letter  material  in  some  consistent,  uncon- 
fused  way  and  thus  give  our  readers  a  minimum  of  trouble 
in  reading  them,  and,  if  possible,  a  maximum  of  pleasure. 

The  paragraph  plan  can  be  used  most  satisfactorily  in 
arranging  a  letter.  Deciding  beforehand  just  what  we 
want  to  say,  we  shall  find  it  a  distinct  advantage  to  have  the 
topic  sentence  of  each  section  or  paragraph  of  our  letter 
already  decided  upon  when  we  come  tO'  write  the  actual 
letter.  Thus,  a  person  writing  to  a  friend  in  England,  who 
is  more  or  less  of  a  public  man,  might  arrange  his  letter 
material  in  this  fashion : — 

1.  I  sincerely  trust  that  my  not  hearing  from  you  for  so 
long  a  time  means  no  private  or  family  troubles,  but, 
rather,  your  public  success. 

2.  So  far  as  I  have  seen  in  the  press,  political  affairs  in 
England  seem  to  have  taken  a  turn  for  the  better. 

3.  The  v^orld  has  been  fairly  good  to  your  American 
friends. 

4.  We  are  all  looking  forward  to  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
you  in  the  summer. 

5.  Our  best  v^ishes  are  yours. 

We  have  here  indicated  the  contents  of  each  paragraph  of 
the  letter,  and  now  the  matter  of  writing  it  is  nothing  more 
than  one  of  mere  expansion. 


158  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

In  short  notes,  such  as  mothers  or  fathers  write  to 
our  teachers  to  excuse  our  absences  and  other  delinquencies, 
our  plans  need  not  be  so  elaborate,  but  they  should  be  quite 
as  positive  and  distinct.  Thus  we  shall  find  an  excuse  some- 
times very  properly  following  this  order : — 

1.  Request  to  be  excused 

2.  Reason  for  absence 

3.  Courteous  complimentary  closing 

or  this 

1.  Reason   for  absence 

2.  Request  or  excuse 

3.  Request  to  have  lessons  made  up 

4.  Appreciation  of  courtesy 

Any  order,  so  long  as  there  is  order,  may  be  used. 

We  ourselves  may  be  called  upon  to  write  to  our  Prin- 
cipal to  ask  for  some  favor  or  privilege.  We  know  how 
prone  he  is  to  say  to  us  when  we  ask  him  personally  for 
anything,  *Tut  it  in  writing,  please''.  This  should  put  us 
on  our  mettle  and  we  should  be  eager  to  do  our  best.  Let 
us  then  plan  the  note  carefully  first,  perhaps  something  like 
this: — 

^   I.  In  compliance  with  your  request,  I  write  to  say, 

1.  that  I  should  like  to  drop  French 

a.  Reasons 

2.  that  I  should  like  to  substitute  Spanish 

a.  Reasons 

3.  that  my  parents  and  I  shall  be  much  indebted  to  you 

for  your  best  advice  in  the  matter 

or,  more  briefly, 

1.  My  reason  for  writing 

2.  My  first  request 

3.  My  second  request 

4.  Appreciation 


THE   LETTER   PLAN  159 

But  we  must  never  forget  that  the  numbers  used  in  tabu- 
lating our  points  do  not  necessarily  mean  that  we  have  as 
many  paragraphs  in  our  expanded  work  as  we  have  topics. 
In  the  form  just  considered  our  note  is  to  be  a  short  one 
and  it  would  look  a  bit  queer  perhaps  to  break  it  up  into 
four  parts.  We  might  very  easily  combine  2  and  3,  there- 
fore, having  a  brief  introductory  paragraph  and  a  brief 
concluding  one. 

Letters  of  congratulation  and  of  condolence  are  fre- 
quently regarded  not  only  as  difficult  to  write,  but  as  dis- 
agreeable. This  feeling  is  very  largely  due  tO'  the  fact 
that  people  do  not  think  or  plan  them  out  definitely  before 
sitting  down  to  write  them.  No  cut  and  dried  formula 
can  be  set  down  for  such  letters,  or  for  any  letters  for 
that  matter,  except  in  a  most  general  way.  Every  letter 
that  we  write  will  of  course  have  certain  definite,  individual 
details  peculiar  to  itself,  but  we  shall  be  the  better  able  to 
cope  with  these  individual  situations  if  we  form  the  habit 
of  carefully  planning  before  we  write.  Suppose  a  good 
friend  has  just  won  a  prize  for  diligence  at  school.  We 
will  write  him  telling  him, 

1.  How  glad  we  are  to  hear  of  his  success, 

2.  How  much  we  hope  that  he  shall  have  such  success 
always, 

3.  How  anxious  we  are  to  hear  from  one  whom  we  are 
so  proud  to  know, 

or  telling  him 

1.  That  we  were  not  surprised,  for  we  knew  he  deserved 
it, 

2.  That  we  congratulate  him  heartily, 

3.  That  we  hope  his   success  is  significant  of  what  his 
whole  life  is  going  to  be, 

4.  That  he  must  write  us  and  tell  us  how  it  feels  to  have 
"grown  so  great'*. 


i6o  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

Later,  we  may  be  called  upon  to  write  him  a  note  con- 
gratulating him  upon  his  recent  marriage.     If  so,  we  may 

1.  Congratulate  the  groom  on  his  good  fortune, 

2.  Wish  both  bride  and  groom  continuous  prosperity  and 
happiness, 

3.  Assure  them  of  our  lasting  regard. 

In  case  a  friend  has  had  the  misfortune  to  fail  in  some 
important  examination,  we  should  write  to  say, 

1.  That  we  are  sorry, 

2.  That  the  greatest  successes  have  been  bred  of  failure, 

3.  That  we  know  such  will  be  the  case  with  this  failure. 

If  a  friend  has  lost  a  close  relative,  we  may  write  him, 

1.  That  we  are  grieved  for  him, 

2.  That  we  are  eager  to  assure  him  of  our  warm  friend- 
ship in  such  a  crisis, 

3.  That  we  are  anxious  to  render  him  any  service. 

All  such  notes  as  those  above  sketched  must  be  brief. 
It  is  the  very  rare  exception  indeed  when  the  letter  of  con- 
gratulation or  of  condolence  should  be  long.  People  that 
are  very  happy  or  very  unhappy  have  not  as  a  rule  either 
the  time  or  the  inclination  to  read  long  treatises  on  the 
lot  that  has  fallen  to  them. 

It  must  be  distinctly  understood  that  in  the  considera- 
tion of  commercial  letters  (as  in  that  of  social  let- 
ters) it  is  impossible  to  illustrate  every  kind  of  letter  that 
may  have  to  be  written.  As  has  just  been  said,  every  let- 
ter we  write  may  call  for  some  particular  handling  of  some 
new  thing.  Indeed,  we  cannot  discuss  all  the  different 
forms  of  one  kind  of  letter  even,  such  a  one  for  instance 
as  that  of  answering  an  advertisement.     To  do  so  would 


THE   LETTER   PLAN  i6l 

mean  that  we  should  have  to  answer  nearly  all  the  adver- 
tisements in  a  paper  on  a  single  day,  for  each  one  may 
call  for  some  special  thing.  But  as  has  also  been  said  (not 
too  often,  we  hope)  if  we  form  the  habit  of  planning  cer- 
tain kinds  of  letters,  we  shall  get  the  training  that  will 
enable  us  to  plan  for  all  kinds,  to  meet  any  emergency  in 
correspondence  that  may  confront  us. 

We  have  divided  commercial  letters  into 
# 
Business 
Newspaper 
Circular 

and  we  will  now  study  a  few  illustrations  of  plans  for 
each  of  these,  as  we  have  done  with  the  preceding  group. 
In  answering  an  advertisement  it  is  a  good  plan  to 
follow  in  our  letter  the  order  observed  in  the  advertise- 
ment. Unfortunately  this  cannot  always  be  done,  for  ad- 
vertisements are  frequently  very  badly  written  and  exhibit 
no  consistent  plan  whatever.  Instead,  however,  of  this  be- 
ing a  disadvantage,  it  may  be  turned  to  advantage  by  us,  in 
that  we  may  be  able  to  show  a  possible  future  employer 
that  we  possess  a  sense  of  order  which  his  advertisement 
lacks,  and  thus  we  may  impress  him.  Most  advertisements 
for  help  perhaps  ask  for  all  or  some  of  these  four  or  five 
things, — age,  education,  experience,  reference,  salary  expect- 
ed,— and  usually  this  order  is  a  good  one  to  follow.  In  the 
first  paragraph  of  our  letter  we  can  state  our  age  and  educa- 
tion; in  the  second,  our  experience  and  references;  in  the 
third  short  one,  the  salary  expected.  Or  we  might  write 
five  paragraphs  of  varying  lengths,  assigning  one  to  each 
topic.  In  no  case  should  we  include  all  of  our  material  in 
answer  to  such  an  advertisement  in  one  paragraph.  The 
proportions  in  such  a  letter  are  at  once  evident, — our  ex- 


i62  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

perience  needs  to  be  treated  in  detail;  our  education  may 
be  next  in  importance;  our  references,  next;  and  our  age 
and  the  salary  we  expect  should  be  given  the  briefest  pos- 
sible space.  Whether  or  not  the  advertisement  asks  for 
all  these  things,  it  is  well  for  us  to  include  them,  stressing 
the  points  that  the  advertisement  does  mention.  It  is  also 
well  for  us  to  place  additional  emphasis  upon  any  phase  of 
our  experience  or  our  education  that  we  think  particularly 
likely  to  aid  us  in  securing  the  position.  It  is  customary, 
though  not  always  necessary,  to  preface  such  a  letter  with 
a  brief  phrase  or  clause  telling  where  and  when  the  adver- 
tisement was  seen ;  and  to  conclude  it  with  an  expression  of 
hope  that  the  application  be  favorably  considered.  Of 
course  such  matters  of  form  as  penmanship,  punctuation, 
the  omission  of  the  pronoun  *'I"  wherever  possible,  cour- 
teous and  correct  expression,  all  of  which  count  for  so 
much  in  applications  for  positions,  must  be  watched  with 
particular  care.  Our  letter  plan  then  for  such  a  case  as 
we  have  been  here  discussing  might  run  somewhat  as  fol- 
lows : — 

1.  Preface,  age,  and  education. 

2.  Experience  and  references. 

3.  Salary  expected. 

4.  Conclusion,    usually    linked    with    participial    compli- 

mentary closing. 

The  order  may  be  changed  as  our  judgment  dictates  in 
special  situations.  Sometimes  age,  salary  expected,  whether 
the  applicant  be  married  or  single,  and  such  other  details, 
are  combined  in  a  single  paragraph  at  the  beginning.  This 
arrangement  has  the  merit  of  stating  the  important  things, 
such  as  experience  and  references,  at  the  very  outset,  so 
that  they  are  read  when  the  reader's  mind  is  fresh  to  the 
letter. 


THE  LETTER   PLAN  163 

In  the  ordinary  business-question  letter — a  letter,  that 
is,  to  a  man  or  a  firm  asking  for  some  special  information — 
a  prefatory  sentence  or  brief  paragraph  is  usually  employed 
in  which  the  privilege  of  inquiry  is  courteously  asked,  or 
the  purpose  of  the  letter  stated.  This  is  followed  by  the 
questions  proper,  and  the  letter  is  concluded  with  a  parti- 
cipial complimentary  closing.  Our  general  plan  for  such  a 
letter  would  then  read  as  follows : — 

I.  Preface 

"You  will  be  good  enough  I  hope  to  permit  me  to  ask 
you  a  few  questions  in  regard  to  your  manufacturing 
plant.  The  information  is  to  be  used  by  me  in  a  public 
debate — etc." 

II.  Questions 
I. 
2. 

3- 
4. 

III.  Complimentary  closing 

"Trusting  that  answering  so  many  questions  will  not 
be  too  great  an  invasion  of  your  valuable  time,  I  am 
Respectfully  yours, 

And  here  again  we  must  remember  that  this  is  by  no  means 
a  hard  and  fast  form  but  that  it  is  one  good  form  for 
soliciting  information.  If  we  vary  it  we  should  always 
bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  our  questions  should  be  presented 
in  some  logical  order, — in  the  order  of  what  we  regard 
their  importance,  perhaps,  or  in  the  order  in  which  their 
answers  would  naturally  unfold  the  information  solicited. 
And  somewhere  in  the  letter  there  should  always  be  a  cour- 
teous apology  for  the  intrusion  which  our  letter  makes,  or 
a  courteous  expression  of  thanks  for  the  privilege  of  writ- 


i64  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

ing  to  the  party  for  whom  the  letter  is  intended  for  in- 
formation. This  latter  is  especially  important  when  our 
questioning  is  not  likely  to  result  in  probable  future  pat- 
ronage, but  rather  when  it  is  made  for  purposes  quite  for- 
eign to  the  interests  of  the  one  to  whom  it  is  sent;  as  in 
the  illustration. 

In  answering  a  business  letter  it  is  of  course  a  good 
plan  to  take  up  each  question  in  turn  and  answer  it,  unless 
two  or  more  questions  can  be  grouped  under  a  single  an- 
swer. There  should  also  be  an  expression,  either  at  the 
beginning  or  at  the  end,  of  pleasure  in  being  able  to  fur- 
nish the  information  solicited.  This  is  oftentimes  linked 
with  some  such  statement  as, — ^'Assuring  you  of  our  prompt 
attention  in  case  we  can  be  of  further  service,  we  are,  etc.'' 
This  and  other  similar  amenities  in  letter-writing  are  neces- 
sary (.though  perhaps  not  always  meant)  to  give  a  letter 
a  courteous  tone  which  no  business  house  can  afford  to 
have  its  letters  omit.  There  should  never  be  any  brusque- 
ness  or  abruptness  in  anything  that  we  write,  least  of  all  in 
our  letters,  even  though  we  be  called  upon  often  to  write 
letters  that  are  foreign  to  the  actual  business  which  we 
represent. 

In  the  case  of  our  writing  to  publishers, — to  order 
books,  let  us  say, — ^the  table  of  contents  of  our  letter  may 

be:— 

I 

1.  Enclosure 

2.  Names  and  numbers  of  books 

3.  Method  of  sending  them 

4.  Complimentary  closing 

Point  I  is  frequently  wrongly,  written  as  follows, — 

"Enclosed  please  find  five  dollars  ($5.00)  for  which 
send  me,  etc."    The  word  *'please"  belongs  before  the  word 


THE   LETTER   PLAN  165 

"send'',  not  before  ''find''.  The  obligation,  if  there  be  any, 
is  because  of  the  sending,  not  because  of  the  publisher's 
finding  money  in  the  envelope. 

There  are  probably  as  many  kinds  of  order  letters  as 
there  are  kinds  of  business.  Here  as  elsewhere  we  must 
simply  bear  in  mind  the  importance  of  planning  all  of 
them  before  writing  them.  It  is  even  more  important  if 
possible  in  these  than  in  others,  for  the  reasons  that  money 
is  involved  in  the  transaction,  and  that,  if  we  want  our 
orders  accurately  filled,  we  must  state  them  accurately. 
We  may  write  to  a  shop  ordering  clothes ;  to  a  theater,  or- 
dering seats;  to  a  newspaper  office,  ordering  a  paper  sent 
us ;  to  a  thousand  different  places  ordering  things  of  a  thou- 
sand different  natures.  In  every  case  let  us  plan  our  let- 
ters explicitly,  if  not  as  follows,  then  in  some  equally  good 
way : — 

1.  Mention  enclosure 

2.  State  clearly  what  is  wanted 

3.  Tell  how  it  should  be  sent 

4.  Close  courteously 

The  circular  letter  is,  as  a  rule,  an  advertising  letter;  a 
letter,  that  is,  that  explains  fully  all  about  a  certain  com- 
modity and  solicits  patronage.  It  is  nothing  oftentimes 
but  a  composition  in  explanation  cast  into  the  letter  form. 
It  may  contain  description  and  argument  and  narration, 
but,  if  so,  they  are  all  used  for  the  purpose  of  elucidating 
the  explanation,  and  impressing  the  usefulness  of  some 
particular  commodity  upon  us.  Sometimes  such  letters  are 
opened  with  a  polite  appeal  for  our  consideration  and  at- 
tention, followed  by  a  complete  explanation  of  the  thing  to 
be  advertised,  and  closed  with  a  strong  appeal  for  our  pa- 
tronage. This  gives  us  a  tripartite  division  and  presupposes 
the  formal  plan : 


i66  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

I.  Introduction 

1.  Appeal  for  consideration 

2.  Statement  of  purpose  of  letter 
II.  Discussion 

I.  Full  explanation  of  article  or  property  or  whatever  it 
may  be,  by  means  of  description,  narration,  or  argu- 
ment, or  all  combined 
III.  Conclusion 

I.  Solicitation  of  purchase 

In  many  cases  however  the  explanation  of  the  matter  is 
placed  first  in  order  to  catch  the  reader's  attention  at  once, 
and  the  details  of  courtesy,  such  as,  ^'thanking  you  for  the 
privilege  of  writing  one  whose  patronage  would  be  a  com- 
pliment to  the  firm",  are  placed  last  or  subordinately. 

Circular  letters  again  may  take  the  form  of  complaint. 
We  may  write  a  long  letter  to  the  principal  of  our  school 
complaining  of  various  curtailments  of  our  liberties,  or 
asking  for  certain  extensions  of  privileges.  Whatever  our 
subject  may  be  we  should  follow  some  such  plan  as  this : — 

1.  Statement  of  our  purpose  in  writing  the  letter, 

2.  Seriatim  enumeration  of  complaints  or  requests, 

3.  Complimentary   closing,   thanking   for   past   courtesies 
and  hoping  that  the  present  requests  (or  complaints) 

will  not  appear  ungrateful  or  presumptuous. 

Sometimes  the  circular  takes  the  form  of  narration 
and  excludes  all  other  material.  A  story  is  told  in  which 
characters  are  made  to  converse  about  the  commodity  to  be 
disposed  of,  or  in  which  the  commodity  itself  figures  as  an 
actor.  *'The  Road  to  Wellville^',  ^The  Gold-Dust  Twins'^ 
etc.,  are  cases  in  point.  Here  we  would  employ  the  regu- 
lar narrative  outline  and  we  cannot  do  better  than  consult 
the  chapter  dealing  with  that  form  of  plan  if  we  want 
guidance  for  writing  such  a  circular  letter. 

In  circular  letters,  as  well  as  in  letters  to  newspapers. 


THE   LETTER   PLAN  167 

we  should  try  to  forget,  after  we  have  complied  with  the 
letter  form,  that  we  are  writing  a  letter.  Such  letters  are 
really  compositions  with  just  sufficient  of  the  letter  flavor 
about  them  to  justify  our  putting  them  into  an  envelope. 

Some  of  the  greatest  and  most  beneficial  reforms  the 
world  has  ever  known  have  been  brought  about  by  effective 
letters  written  to  the  editors  of  newspapers  and  published 
by  them.  It  is  wise  that  we  should  strive  to  be  able  to 
write  such  letters.  Nowhere  is  it  more  important  that  we 
look  carefully  to  the  form  and  expression  than  here,  for 
our  letters  will  be  thrown  into  the  waste-basket  unless  they 
are  properly  and  convincingly  written.  The  date  in  such 
letters  is  usually  placed  in  the  lower  left-hand  corner.  The 
address  may  be  placed  at  the  top,  upper  right-hand  corner, 
or  underneath  the  signature.  If  a  fictitious  name  be  used, 
then  the  real  name  and  address  should  be  placed  in  paren- 
thesis underneath  it.  The  salutation  usually  consists 
simply  of: — 

"To  the  Editor  of  The  Times :"  or  ^'Mr.  Editor :'' 
The  form  then,  graphically  represented,  is  as  follows : — 
To  the  Editor  of  The  World: 

Introduction  •. 


Body^ 


Conclusion  - 

Respectfully  yours, 
"Inquisitive" 

(James  Thompson, 
138  Broadway, 
Jan.  18,  1913.  New  York  City). 


i68  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

It  is  customary  in  a  newspaper  letter  to  preface  it  with 
a  request  for  permission  to  bring  some  matter  to  public 
attention  through  the  columns  of  the  paper  to  which  the 
letter  is  written.  Then  the  letter  is  commenced  immedi- 
ately, and  concluded  quite  the  same  as  an  ordinary  letter, 
often  with  a  participial  complimentary  closing.  The  fol- 
lowing skeleton  illustrates  this  conventional  type  of 
letter : — 

1.  Prefatory  sentence  paragraph: 

"May  I  call  attention  through  the  valuable  columns  of 
THE  TRIBUNE  to  the  condition  of  the  streets  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Washington  Square?'* 

2.  The  letter  proper,  planned  and  paragraphed  beforehand; 

3.  The  conclusion : 

"Trusting  that  you  will  give  so  serious  a  matter  the 
effective  attention  that  has  so  often  in  the  past  bene- 
fited the  community,  I  am 

Respectfully  yours. 

In  many  cases,  however,  letters  are  written  to  editors 
in  reply  to  editorials  or  to  other  letters  that  have  recently 
appeared.  In  such  cases  of  course  the  preface  and  the  con- 
clusion will  differ  somewhat  from  the  above.  At  the  out- 
set the  editorial  or  letter  that  we  wish  to  comment  upon 
should  be  mentioned.  The  conclusion  need  have  only  such 
characteristics  as  those  that  are  commonly  attached  to  a 
composition  or  other  piece  of  writing,  or  we  may,  if  we  are 
in  agreement  with  the  article  to  which  we  are  respond- 
ing, congratulate  the  writer;  while,  if  we  are  in  disagree- 
ment, we  may  express  the  hope  that  the  points  brought  out 
in  our  letter  will  be  the  cause  of  a  change  of  opinion  about 
the  matter  concerned. 


THE   LETTER   PLAN  169 

EXERCISE 

I.  Write  letters  for  all  the  illustrative  plans  that 
have  been  given  in  this  chapter.  Be  careful  to  follow  the 
plan  in  each  case.  For  the  circular  and  newspaper  letters 
select  subjects  in  connection  with  your  own  school. 

IL  Imagine  yourself  at  boarding-school  for  the  first 
time.  Plan  and  write  a  letter  home  telling  your  parents 
about  your  arrival,  your  surroundings,  your  comrades,  and 
your  work. 

in.  Plan  and  write  a  letter  to  one  of  your  old  boy 
friends  telling  him  how  you  are  spending  your  vacation. 

IV.  Plan  and  write  a  note  to  your  teacher,  asking 
him  to  spend  Saturday  afternoon  and  evening  with  you. 

V.  Plan  and  write  a  note  to  your  Principal  asking 
him  to  allow  your  literary  club  to  use  the  chapel  for  a 
public  meeting. 

VI.  Plan  and  write  a  letter  to  a  friend  congratulat- 
ing him  upon  being  elected  president  of  his  club. 

VII.     Plan  and  write  a  letter  to   a  friend  who  has 
just  lost  his  mother. 

VIII.  Plan  and  write  a  letter  to  Messrs.  D.  Appleton 
and  Company,  Publishers,  at  35  West  32nd  Street,  New 
York  City,  ordering  half  a  dozen  books.  Inclose  the 
money;  name  the  books;  tell  when,  where,  and  how  de- 
livery is  to  be  made. 

IX.  Plan  and  write  a  letter  to  R.  H.  Macy  &  Com- 
pany, asking  to  have  a  pair  of  gloves,  which  you  are  re- 
turning under  separate  cover,  exchanged.  Tell  them  ex- 
actly why  you  want  to  exchange  the  gloves  and  what  you 
wish  sent  you  in  return.  Assume  that  there  may  be  a 
difference  in  price  and  provide  for  that  difference  in  your 
letter. 


170  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

X.  Plan  and  write  a  letter  to  a  theater  ticket  office, 
inclosing  money,  and  asking  for  two  tickets  for  a  certain 
night  in  a  certain  part  of  the  theater. 

XL  Plan  and  write  a  letter  to  the  manager  of  some 
team  in  another  school,  making  arrangements  for  a  game 
with  your  own  school  team.  Time,  conditions,  and  place 
must  be  clearly  provided  for. 

Write  the  manager's  reply  to  your  letter.  If  further 
correspondence  is  necessary  to  complete  the  negotiation, 
produce  it. 

XII.  You  are  to  debate  on  a  subject  connected  with 
department  store  employees.  Plan  and  write  a  letter  to 
the  manager  of  some  store,  asking  him  a  number  of  ques- 
tions as  to  hours,  wage,  length  of  service,  schooling,  etc. 
of  the  employees. 

XIII.  Plan  and  write  an  answer  to  a  letter  that  you 
have  received  asking  you : — 

1.  Where  you  go  to  school, 

2.  The  number  of  students   and  teachers  in  the   school, 

3.  What  you  study, 

4.  What  you  intend  to  make  of  yourself, 

5.  How  your  present  work  is  helping  you  to  that  end. 

XIV.  Plan  and  write  a  letter  to  the  White  Star 
Line,  9  Broadway,  New  York  City,  inclosing  a  check 
for  $25,  and  asking  them  to  book  you  for  passage  to  Eng- 
land. 

Designate: 

1.  The  ship  on  which  you  want  to  go, 

2.  The  date, 

3.  The  class, 

4.  The  location  of  the  room,  in  a  general  way. 


THE   LETTER   PLAN  171 

Ask  them  to  tell  you 

1.  When  you  shall  reach  England, 

2.  What  the  balance  of  your  passage  will  be, 

3.  When  that  balance  is  due. 

Write  the  reply  you  receive  from  the  White  Star  Line. 
XV.     Plan  and  write  answers  to  the  following  adver- 
tisements : — 

1.  Wanted:     Bright,  active  boy,  not  over  fifteen,  for  general 
office  work.     Must  be  well  recommended. 

Box  17,  Herald,  Uptown. 

2.  For    sale,    cheap,    good    upright   piano    of   standard    make; 
used  for  one  year.    $500.  new;  will  sell  for  $200. 

Debtor,  Times,  Downtown. 

3.  Situation  wanted  by  expert  book-keeper.     .Excellent  train- 
ing and  experience.     Expert  accountant. 

X,  Tribune. 

4.  THE  EXCELSIOR  SCHOOL 

A  great  school  for  boys !     Trains  for  business,  prepares  for 
college,  fits  for  life.     Write  for  circulars  and  information  to 

S.  E.  Everett,  Secretary, 

Excelsior  School  Building, 
15    Bond  Street. 
Phila.,  Penna. 

5.  Wanted :     High   school  graduate   as   assistant   secretary  to 
manager  of  a  large  manufacturing  concern.     Must  be  able 

to  approach  people  and  furnish  the  best  of  references.     An- 
swer in  own  handwriting. 

Box  20,  Telegram,   Central 

(These  should  be  supplemented  by  a  large  selection 
of  **ads''  from  the  daily  paper,  and  also  by  ''ads''  com- 
posed by  students  and  exchanged  with  one  another.) 


172  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

XVI.  Plan  and  write  an  application  for  a  position  in 
a  house  which,  so  far  as  you  know,  has  not  advertised  for 
any  one,  but  with  which  you  would  like  to  be  associated. 
State  age,  training,  ambitions,  willingness  to  start  at 
bottom,  and  the  desire  tO'  be  kept  in  mind  by  the  firm  in 
case  they  do  not  need  any  one  at  the  present  time. 

XVII.  Plan  and  write  a  circular  letter  for  the  public, 
advertising  some  article  about  which  you  have  full  knowl- 
edge,— such  as  a  camera,  a  book,  a  certain  kind  of  foot- 
ball, baseball,  or  hockey  stick.  Make  your  letter  as  ap- 
pealing as  you  possibly  can. 

XVIII.  Imagine  that  the  snow  has  not  been  removed 
from  your  street  for  weeks  and  that  it  is  now  dirty  and 
breeding  disease.  Plan  and  write  a  strong  letter  to  some 
newspaper  about  the  condition. 

XIX.  Plan  and  write  a  long  letter  to  a  friend  telling 
him  what  you  have  learned  from  this  chapter  about  letter- 
writing  and  recommending  that  he  study  it  also. 

XX.  Write  the  letters  suggested  by  the  following 
plans.  Add  to  the  plans  or  improve  them  in  any  way  that 
you  can : — 

1.  A  letter  to  your  sister  telling  her 

a.  when  you   shall   arrive, 

b.  that  you  would  like  her  to  meet  you, 

c.  that  a  friend  is  coming  with  you, 

d.  how  long  you  can   stay. 

2.  A  letter  to  your  friend  Carl 

a.  asking  him  to  visit  you  on   Saturday, 

b.  telling  him  to  bring  his  skates, 

c.  inviting  him  to  stay  to  dinner, 

d.  warning  him  to  make   arrangements   to    return   home 

late. 

3.  A  letter  to  your  friend   Bob  asking  him 

a.  how  he  likes  his  new  school, 


THE   LETTER   PLAN  173 

b.  how  one  must  proceed  to  gain  admission, 

c.  whether  the  work  is  difficult, 

d.  how  long  it  takes   to  graduate. 

4.  A  letter  to  the  Mayor  of  your  city  asking  him  to  address 
your  club.     Tell  him  definitely 

a.  the  time, 

b.  the  place, 

c.  the  kind  of  club, 

d.  the  length  of  speech  desired, 

e.  the  subject  you  would  like  him  to  talk  about. 

5.  A  letter  to  the  Hotel  Rustic,  Lake  George,  N.  Y.,  asking 

a.  the  rate  per  week, 

b.  for  circular  of  sports, 

c.  for  best  way  to  reach  the  place. 

6.  A  letter  to  Messrs.  A.  G.  Spalding  and  Bros.,  25  West  42nd 
Street,  New  York  City,  asking  for 

a.  circular  of  various   stock, 

b.  terms  on  foot-ball  suits  and  sweaters  for  your  school 

team    (state  full   conditions). 


CHAPTER    IX 

THE  WRITTEN   COMPOSITION 

We  are  primarily  concerned  in  this  little  volume  with 
learning  how  to  plan  our  work,  with  studying  how  to  pre- 
pare to  write  and  speak.  But  it  is  well  perhaps  that  we 
review  here  in  the  briefest  possible  way  a  few  of  the  fun- 
damentals of  expression,  for  planning  in  composition  work 
always  implies  of  course  subsequent  writing  or  speaking. 
Perhaps  we  think  that  we  know  all  about  these  things,  they 
constitute  such  a  ''straight-ahead''  sort  of  business;  and 
perhaps  we  shall  be  very  much  bored  with  what  follows 
in  the  present  chapter.  Moreover,  we  have  just  been  told 
time  and  time  again  that,  if  we  plan  well,  our  written  or 
oral  composition  will  be  more  than  two-thirds  done,  that 
it  will  be  made  very  easy  for  us.  This  is  true  beyond  all 
doubt.  Yet  the  plan  does  not  constitute  the  whole  com- 
position,— there  is  still  a  third,  and  a  very  important  third, 
of  the  work  to  be  done,  and  we  must  therefore  patiently 
bear  in  mind  certain  principles  and  details  pertaining  to 
our  written  and  oral  expression,  if  we  would  become  good 
writers  and  able  talkers.  Everything  that  is  said  in  this 
chapter  pertains  to  oral  as  well  as  to  written  composition, 
though  we  have  heard  of  much  of  it  only  in  connection 
with  written  work.  In  the  next  chapter  we  shall  deal  ex- 
clusively with  oral  expression,  with  those  principles  of 
expression  that  apply  chiefly,  if  not  only,  to  speech. 

Sometimes  we  use  the  words  title  and  subject  in  con- 

174 


*  THE   WRITTEN    COMPOSITION  175 

nection  with  composition  as  if  they  mean  the  same  thing. 
This  is  a  mistake  and  we  should  clearly  differentiate  between 
them.  The  title  is  really  the  label  which  we  use  for  our 
subject.  It  corresponds  to  a  family  name  in  those  stories 
like  ^Tilgrim's  Progress''  and  *The  Vicar  of  Wakefield" 
in  which  a  character's  name  is  oftentimes  the  name  of 
his  leading  characteristic,  or  to  the  nickname  which  we 
apply  to  our  friends,  often  so  appropriately,  such  as  "Easy", 
''Bunny",  etc.  These  are  handy  names  or  titles,  and  they 
are  at  the  same  time  short  definitions  of  the  people  they 
stand  for.  They  are,  in  short,  labels  or  titles  for  a  subject 
in  each  case.  But  such  labels  should  always  have  some- 
thing about  them  to  define  the  thing  they  stand  for.  Some 
of  our  popular  modern  advertisements  illustrate  pretty 
clearly  what  titles  should  and  should  not  be.  Of  course 
we  come  to  know  in  a  little  time  what  a  certain  clever 
trade-mark  or  picture,  or  whatever  it  may  be,  represents  or 
advertises  after  we  have  been  educated  to  it.  But  in  many 
cases  the  label  was  invented  solely  for  the  purpose  of 
catching  notice,  and  not  at  all  with  the  intention  of  de- 
fining or  describing  the  article  for  which  it  is  used.  In 
like  manner  we  are  often  tempted,  doubtless,  to  select  fan- 
ciful and  figurative  titles  for  our  compositions.  If  we 
write  about  bread  we  like  to  entitle  our  work  ''The  Staff 
of  Life";  if  about  a  great  bridge,  we  like  to  use  for  our 
title  "A  Wonderful  Span",  etc.  But  it  is  a  good  deal  bet- 
ter to  avoid  such  titles  as  these,  at  any  rate  while  we  are 
in  our  apprenticeship.  After  we  have  become  proficient 
in  writing  we  may  perhaps  justifiably  head  our  work  with 
such  titles  as  "The  Jungle",  "The  Aftermath",  "The  Bub- 
ble", etc.  For  the  present,  if  we  are  writing  a  character 
sketch  of  James  Blank,  we  shall  do  well  to  use  "James 
Blank"  as  our  title.     If  we  are  writing-  an  account  of  our 


176  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

coasting  trip,  we  had  better  call  our  composition  "Our 
Coasting  Trip".  So  also  with  such  subjects  as  "The 
House  in  Which  I  Live",  "My  Room",  "A  Comfortabk 
Window  Seat",  "My  Dog  Prince",  etc.  All  of  these  are 
subjects  about  which  we  can  write,  the  titles  for  which  can- 
not be  better  stated  than  they  are.  But  let  us  always  re- 
member the  hints  given  in  our  study  of  Purpose  and  Point 
of  View ;  namely,  that  the  name  or  label  or  title  we  give  to 
our  subject-matter  should  be  decided  for  us  by  the  phase  or 
part  of  that  subject  which  we  choose  to  accent  in  our  com- 
position. Therefore,  if  in  our  character  sketch  of  James 
Blank  we  wish  to  give  prominence  to  his  generosity,  we 
can  choose  a  more  apt  title.  We  can  then  use  for  the  title 
of  our  composition,  "James  Blank,  Philanthropist",  per- 
haps, or  "A  Master  in  Generosity".  If  in  our  coasting  trip 
we  narrowly  escaped  serious  injury  and  wish  to  accent  this 
phase  of  the  trip  in  the  composition,  then  we  had  better 
take  "A  Narrow  Escape"  for  our  title.  In  like  manner 
we  may  revise  the  other  subjects  suggested.  "The  House 
in  Which  I  Live"  might,  under  particular  treatment,  more 
appropriately  be  called  "Home" ;  "My  Room"  might  very 
properly  become  "My  Den";  "A  Comfortable  Window 
Seat"  might  mean  a  great  deal  more  for  our  composition  if 
changed  to  "My  Cosy  Corner";  "My  Dog  Prince"  might 
deserve  the  title,  "A  Modest  Hero";  etc.  Of  course  we 
are  justified  in  making  our  titles  interesting  and  attractive 
and  taking,  without  ever  making  them  sensational  or  con- 
ventional or  commonplace;  and  they  should  also  always 
represent  clearly  and  truthfully  just  what  our  composition 
is  about.  In  the  selection  of  a  subject  to  write  upon  we 
must  likewise  be  guided  by  limitations  of  knowledge,  time 
and  space.  Subjects  that  lend  themselves  naturally  to  wide 
and  varied  division  should  not  be  chosen,  as  they  will  lead 


THE   WRITTEN    COMPOSITION  177 

us  too  far  and  too  broadly  afield.  Rather  should  we  select 
a  single  one  of  the  partitions  and  make  a  special  develop- 
ment of  that. 

We  know  thoroughly  well  that  in  form  our  composition 
work  in  each  and  every  department  should  be  neat  and  tidy. 
We  should  always  be  unwilling  to  submit  any  but  our  best 
writing  and  our  best  arrangement  of  material.  This  ap- 
plies to  all  of  our  work,  to  be  sure,  but  with  especial  em- 
phasis to  our  work  in  composition.  Here  we  are  preparing 
something  which  intimately  represents  us  for  somebody  else 
to  read  and  scrutinize.  We  must  be  careful  therefore  to 
represent  ourselves  at  our  very  best.  We  cannot  expect 
anybody  to  read  or  appreciate  what  we  have  written  unless 
it  be  neat  and  appetizing  in  appearance.  The  plans  that 
have  been  drawn  up  in  this  book  are  tidily  arranged,  with 
even  margins  and  consistent  tabulation.  Let  us  make  it  a 
point  to  have  our  compositions  follow  our  plans  rigidly  even 
in  this;  though  we  may  think  we  have  done  our  full  duty 
when  we  have  followed  with  absolute  accuracy  the  points 
we  have  set  down  in  our  plan.  We  should  leave  a  generous 
margin  in  all  the  written  work  that  we  do.  The  *'margin- 
ing  habit"  is  a  companion  in  importance  of  the  habit  of 
proper  capitalization,  of  accurate  punctuation,  and  of  cor- 
rect spelling.  The  interior  margins,  such  as  those  for  para- 
graphs and  quotations  and  for  the  heading  and  closing  in 
letters,  should  be  observed  with  accuracy.  None  of  us  can 
afford  to  be  reproached  about  the  appearance  or  form  of  our 
compositions,  if  for  no  other  reason,  because  the  task  of 
making  them  comply  with  good  form  is  such  an  easy  one. 

In  these  days  of  cheap  books,  when  every  one  of  us  can 
own  a  pocket  dictionary  for  the  small  sum  of  five  or  ten 
cents,  there  would  seem  to  be  no  excuse  whatever  for  bad 
spelling.     Yet  we  know  that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  it. 


178  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

We  are  probably  conscious  of  a  great  deal  of  it  in  our- 
selves even  though  v^e  know  full  well  that  there  is  nothing 
that  so  condemns  us  in  the  realm  of  writing  as  misspelling. 
Spelling  rules  will  help  us  to  some  degree  in  this  matter. 
But  the  greatest  help  in  this,  as  in  all  things  else,  must  be 
gained  from  our  ow*n  exertion  and  initiative.  We  must 
enslave  ourselves  for  a  few  years,  if  need  be,  to  the  pocket 
dictionary,  which  we  can  never  afford  to  be  without,  even 
though  we  be  fair  spellers.  The  "'dictionary  habit''  is  the 
only  cure-all  for  bad  spelling  and  if  we  are  bad  spellers  we 
must  therefore  acquire  the  habit.  We  are  usually  warned 
by  a  hesitancy,  however  brief,  whenever  we  are  about  to 
write  a  word  of  the  spelling  of  which  we  are  uncertain.  It 
is  at  this  instant  of  hesitancy  that  we  must  put  down  the 
pen  and  take  up  the  dictionary.  Most  of  us  do  not  do  this. 
We  go  on  writing  the  word,  in  spite  of  the  instinctive  warn- 
ing we  have  been  given,  and  ''trust  to  luck".  This  is  a 
very  bad  procedure,  for  usually  we  shall  find  luck  against 
us  in  the  matter  of  spelling.  Our  pocket  dictionaries  must 
also  be  used  for  the  study  of  syllabication.  It  is  a  mark 
of  ignorance  or  slovenliness,  or  both,  to  divide  a  word 
wrongly  at  the  end  of  a  line,  and  particularly  to  divide  a 
monosyllable  or  word  of  one  syllable.  We  may  h^ve  been 
guilty  of  such  things,  as: 

divi- 
de 

sou- 
nd 

and  if  so  we  have  erred  grossly.  But  we 
may  trust  the  new  pocket  dictionary  to  save  us  from  further 
embarrassment  in  this  line. 

Probably  there  is  no  more  pitiable  error,  usually  the  re- 
sult of  carelessness,  than  the  failure  to  close  our  sentences 


THE   WRITTEN    COMPOSITION  179 

properly, — the  failure  to  conclude  them  when  they  should 
be  concluded,  to  place  a  period  at  the  end  of  the  expression 
of  a  complete  thought.  We  can  as  a  rule  avoid  this  error 
if  we  will  just  take  the  time  to  re-read  aloud  what  we  have 
written.  If  it  sounds  complete  we  may  be  pretty  sure  that 
a  period  should  be  placed  after  it;  if  not,  then  we  must 
of  course  complete  it.  Our  trouble  in  this  direction  usually 
occurs  in  the  writing  of  complex  sentences  with  long,  de- 
pendent clauses  in  them.  But  here  too  we  will  have  a  nat- 
ural, instinctive  hesitancy  when  we  are  in  the  midst  of  our 
sentence,  and  that  hesitancy  is  an  eloquent  appeal  for  us  to 
read  the  sentence  aloud  from  the  beginning.  Then  we  shall 
probably  save  ourselves  from  error. 

"When  I  awoke  this  morning  and  saw  the  sun  shining  in  at 
my  window" 

Shall  we  place  a  period  after  "window"?  Let  us  read  the 
clause  aloud  and  listen  as  we  read.  If  we  drop  our  voices 
after  "window",  then  we  shall  probably  be  right  in  putting 
the  period  there ;  if  not,  then  we  must  complete  the  thought. 
Not  one  in  fifty  but  would  keep  the  voice  sustained  at  that 
place. 

"When  I  awoke  this  morning  and  saw  the  sun  shining  in  at 
my  window,  I  thought  I  should  be  late  for  school." 

Now,  if  we  read  it,  we  shall  find  that  it  sounds  complete; 
we  let  the  voice  fall  at  the  end,  and  we  place  a  period  there. 
It  is  better  for  us  at  first  to  write  short,  simple  sentences 
and  gradually  cultivate  the  habit  of  writing  the  longer,  more 
involved  ones.  The  study  of  elementary  grammar,  with  the 
analysis  of  sentences  of  all  kinds,  is  one  of  the  greatest 
helps  to  the  writing  of  complete  and  correct  sentences,  much 
modern  opinion  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.     A  series 


•i8o  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

of  short  sentences  will  of  course  make  our  work  read  mo- 
notonously, and  give  it  a  disconnected,  ''choppy"  effect,  but 
we  had  better  at  the  outset  suffer  this  defect  in  style  with 
correct  sentence  structure  than  write  ungrammatically. 
Practice  under  a  teacher's  guidance  and  the  study  of  analy- 
sis in  grammar  wall  soon  enable  us  to  lengthen  our  sen- 
tences from  short  simple  ones  to  long  compound  and  com- 
plex ones.  The  ear,  however,  must  be  trusted  more  than 
we  have  been  trusting  it.  The  complete,  correct  sentence  is 
natural.  Most  of  us  have  a  ''sentence  sense",  but  we  do 
not  give  it  opportunity  to  help  us. 

What  has  just  been  said  about  the  sentence  applies  in 
large  measure  to  the  paragraph.  If  we  are  careful  in  mak- 
ing our  plan  for  a  composition,  we  shall  have  very  little 
difficulty  in  deciding  when  and  where  to  commence  and  con- 
clude the  paragraphs  in  our  compositions.  We  can  de- 
cide, as  we  have  seen,  just  where  these  landmarks  in  our 
work  should  occur.  It  is  an  excellent  safeguard  to  deter- 
mine them  beforehand  and  to  indicate  them  with  pencil  in 
the  plan,  if  need  be.  The  chief  thing  to  be  noted  here, 
after  having  studied  the  chapter  on  paragraph  planning,  is 
that  we  should  avoid  a  series  of  very  short  paragraphs,  or 
a  series  of  very  long  ones.  More  will  be  said  of  this  at 
the  end  of  the  present  chapter,  under  the  subject  of  Variety. 

We  have  studied  something  in  the  previous  chapters 
about  SEQUENCE.  This,  we  found,  is  a  very  important 
principle  in  the  development  and  arrangement  of  material 
for  a  composition.  We  studied  about  the  natural  order  of 
arrangement,  the  chronological  order,  and  of  cases  where 
such  order  might  be  set  aside  for  a  different  sequence. 
There  we  were  studying  the  sequence  of  ideas,  the  easy  and 
natural  unfolding  of  one  idea  from  another.  But  we  come 
here  to  study  sequence  in  a  slightly  different  sense.     We 


THE   WRITTEN   COMPOSITION  i8i 

employ  it  here  chiefly  in  its  appHcation  to  words.  If  for 
instance  we  use  a  noun  or  a  pronoun  in  one  person  to  refer 
to  some  one,  and  in  the  same  sentence  or  paragraph  later  use 
a  noun  or  a  pronoun  of  another  person  to  refer  to  the  same 
individual,  we  are  violating  the  principle  of  sequence.  To 
illustrate : — 

(i)  ''One  doesn't  usually  do  it  that  way,  but  if  you  do  you 
should  be  very  careful." 

(2)  ''When  you^  enter  the  room,  you  see  the  lion's  head  the 
first  thing,  and  it  startles  a  fellow  dreadfully." 

The  italicized  words  in  each  of  these  examples  are  obvi- 
ously intended  to  refer  to  the  same  individual,  but  they  are 
not  sequential  in  person,  as  they  should  be.  The  sentences 
should  read : — 

(i)  "One  doesn't  usually  do  it  that  way,  but  if  one  does 
one  should  be  very  careful." 

or 

"You  don't  usually  do  it  that  way,  but  if  you  do  you  should 
be  very  careful." 

(2)  "When  you  enter  the  room  you  see  the  lion's  head  the  first 
thing  and  it  startles  you  dreadfully." 

or 

"When  a  fellow  enters  the  room,  he  sees  the  lion's  head  the 
first  thing  and  it  startles  him  dreadfully." 

Now  they  have  perfect  sequence  in  person.  This  sequence 
is  called  the  sequence  of  person. 

Another  common  violation  of  this  principle  of  sequence 
occurs  in  the  use  of  predicates.  As  a  rule,  the  tense  in 
which  we  start  a  bit  of  conversation  or  other  expression 
is  the  tense  which  we  should  retain  throughout.  This  is 
not  always  the  case,  of  course.     But  if  we  take  up  a  good 


i82  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

book  and  read  at  random  anywhere,  we  shall  find  that  the 
same  tense  is  retained  uniformly,  except  perhaps  where  the 
author  has  introduced  the  words  of  another,  in  which  case 
he  has  kept  the  tense  of  that  other;  or  where  he  has 
wanted. to  hasten  or  slacken  the  pace  of  his  story  by  chang- 
ing from  the  imperfect  to  the  present  tense,  or  vice  versa, 
as  the  case  may  be.  We  may  rest  assured  that  nothing  like 
this  will  be  found : 

"John  goes  to  school  regularly  but  Bill  played  truant." 

''Goes"  and  ''played"  are  not  in  the  same  tense;  they  are 
not  sequential,  though  obviously  they  are  intended  to  be. 
Both  predicates  should  be  present  tense  or  both  should  be 
imperfect.  Such  errors  in  sequence  as  a  rule  are  no  doubt 
the  result  of  thoughtlessness,  but  we  must  train  our  ears 
and  use  our  reason  in  our  writing  toward  the  avoidance  of 
such  an  error  as  that  here  illustrated.  And  at  the  same 
time  we  must  not  get  the  idea  that  we  cannot  have  two  or 
more  than  two  tenses  in  a  single  sentence.  Everything  de- 
pends upon  the  sense  or  meaning  of  our  sentences. 

"My  college  professor  told  me  that  the  air  is  composed  of  two 
elements." 

Here  the  past  "told"  is  perfectly  correct  in  connection  with 
"is",  the  present  form,  for  the  idea  expressed  about  the  air 
is  true  at  present  and  at  all  times,  whereas  the  professor 
did  not  impart  this  information  at  the  present  time  but  in 
the  past.  The  sequence  of  tense  is  decided  therefore  by  a 
little  reasoning  about  the  meaning  of  the  sentence.  Mis- 
takes in  sequence  are  more  likely  to  occur  in  long-sustained 
passages  of  writing  than  in  short  ones.  In  our  haste  to 
record  our  ideas  we  may  sometimes  forget  that  in  a  pre- 
ceding paragraph  we  used  the  present  tense  while  we  are 


THE    WRITTEN    COMPOSITION  185 

using  the  imperfect  in  the  one  we  are  engaged  in  writing. 
We  may  forget  when  we  come  to  the  end  of  a  story  that 
we  started  to  tell  it  in  the  first  person,  whereas  at  the  con- 
clusion we  used  the  second  or  third.  But  such  violations 
are  easily  corrected  if  they  cannot  always  be  avoided. 

There  are  three  very  old  principles  of  Rhetoric  which 
we  must  understand  if  we  would  make  our  writing  all  that 
it  should  be.  They  have  been  studied  by  us  indirectly  all 
along  the  way.  We  come  now  to  study  them  directly. 
They  are 

COHERENCE 

UNITY 

EMPHASIS 


The  initial  letters — c  u  e — suggest  to  us  that  they  may  be 
the  *'cue"  to  much  of  our  success  in  writing  if  we  study 
them  closely.  They  apply  with  equal  force  to  the  sentence, 
the  paragraph,  and  the  whole  composition. 

By  coherence  is  meant  the  harmonious  co-hering  or 
interrelating  or  dovetailing  of  the  various  ideas  in  our  writ- 
ing,— be  it  sentence,  paragraph  or  composition.  The  word 
has  a  use  outside  of  its  rhetorical  significance  and  perhaps 
we  can  best  negatively  illustrate  it  there.  If  for  instance  a 
man  gave  a  ball  which  was  attended  by  royalty,  by  peas- 
ants, by  sailors,  by  South  Sea  Islanders,  by  Chinese,  and 
by  others  of  different  classes  from  different  nations,  the 
assemblage  could  not  be  said  to  be  a  coherent  one.  It 
would  be  most  incoherent  because  the  people  would  have 
too  little  in  common  to  mingle  harmoniously  and  agreeably 
one  with  another.  In  the  sentence,  therefore,  ''Thomas 
goes  to  school  regularly  and  Mary  makes  good  cake'',  we 
have  something  in   English  very  similar  to  this   ball  in 


i84  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

society.  There  are  two  ideas  in  the  statement,  totally  un- 
related, combined  in  one  sentence.  We  say  that  the  sen- 
tence lacks  coherence,  as  a  consequence  of  this.  We  must 
of  course  make  two  sentences  of  it,  one  for  each  idea,  or 
change  the  wording  to  bring  out  the  contrast.  Now,  in 
a  larger  way  the  same  kind  of  error  may  occur  in  a  para- 
graph and  in  a  composition.  We  must  be  careful  that 
every  idea  we  give  expression  to  in  company  with  other 
ideas  bears  some  consistent  relation  to  those  other  ideas,  and 
has  therefore  a  justifiable  place  in  our  work  as  a  whole. 
Our  successive  sentences  must  lead  from  those  gone  before 
to  those  following.  This,  and  only  this,  will  give  our  com- 
pleted writing  Coherence. 

But  not  only  should  our  ideas  as  expanded  in  a  piece  of 
writing  have  consistent  and  harmonious  interrelation  one 
with  another,  they  should  all  with  equal  certainty  bear 
pointedly  upon  the  subject  on  which  we  are  writing.  Every 
word  in  a  sentence,  every  sentence  in  a  paragraph,  every 
paragraph  in  a  composition,  should  pertain  directly,  insis- 
tently, to  the  subject  under  discussion.  Of  course  some 
words  and  sentences  and  paragraphs  must  be  more  impor- 
tant than  others,  but  all  of  them  must  be  indispensable  to 
the  development  of  the  idea,  if  not  to  its  major  points,  to 
its  minor  ones.  There  must  be  no  superfluous  word,  sen- 
tence, or  paragraph.  When  we  have  thus  stripped  our 
work  of  every  unnecessary  element  in  it,  we  have  procured 
for  it  oneness  or  Unity.  The  principle  of  unity  is  closely 
related  to  that  of  Coherence.  Coherence  deals  with  the  re- 
lations among  words,  sentences,  and  paragraphs ;  unity  deals 
with  the  relation  of  words,  sentences  and  paragraphs  to 
the  subject  of  the  composition.  Probably,  if  one  of  these 
qualities  is  lacking  from  the  composition,  the  other  will  be 
also,  for  sentences  that  are  related  to  the  same  subject  must 


THE   WRITTEN    COMPOSITION  185 

be  related  to  each  other.  It  is  conceivable  however  to  have 
a  series  of  sentences  all  relating  to  one  subject,  but  ar- 
ranged haphazardly,  without  sequence.  The  problem  of  co- 
herence and  unity  then  is  to  arrange  them  so  that  they  will 
most  smoothly  relate  to  each  other  and  at  the  same  time 
form  a  complete  whole  in  relation  to  the  subject  when  ar- 
ranged. In  our  common  parlance  unity  means  ''sticking 
to  the  subject".  We  may  illustrate  the  two  qualities  by  the 
arranging  of  a  number  of  irregularly  cut  blocks,  so  that, 
when  the  arrangement  is  complete,  the  figure  represents  an 
animal, — let  us  say,  a  horse.  The  many  blocks  have  been 
coherently  related  to  each  other — dovetailed — and  the  com- 
pleted whole  forms  one  figure,  or  a  unity.  The  group  of 
blocks  was  a  unity  without  any  correct  coherence  before 
they  were  arranged.  So  our  selected  material  for  a  com- 
position forms  a  unity.  We  bring  coherence  to  bear  upon 
it  and  we  have  a  complete  and  expressive  unity.  The  two 
go  hand  in  hand.  We  cannot  separate  them,  yet  they  have 
distinct  meanings  and  offices. 

By  EMPHASIS  we  mean  the  placing  of  material  in  our 
composition,  oral  or  written,  where  it  will  be  most  effec- 
tive, most  emphatic.  The  emphatic  places  in  sentences,  para- 
graphs, or  compositions  are  at  the  beginning  and  the  end. 
The  conclusion  of  a  piece  of  work  however  is  a  more  em- 
phatic place  than  the  beginning,  for  here  it  is  important  to 
leave  an  impression,  a  conviction  perhaps,  upon  our  audi- 
ence; here  we  want  to  build  up  and  emphasize  our  state- 
ment or  our  argument  with  great  force.  But  we  have 
heard  also  that  first  impressions  are  lasting  ones.  At  the 
beginning  of  our  work,  then,  we  should  state  forcefully 
and  strikingly  what  our  purpose  is  to  be  and  what  the  im- 
portance of  our  subject  is.  At  the  end  we  must  show  that 
we   have   proved  that   importance.     These    two   directions 


i86  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

apply  only  most  generally  of  course.  Individual  subjects 
will  suggest  by  their  very  nature  in  most  cases  what  should 
be  emphasized  at  first,  and  what  last. 

Emphasis  is  procured  by  building  up  one  statement  after 
another,  each  more  forceful,  more  tense,  more  impressive 
than  the  one  preceding  it,  until  we  have  reached  the  limit 
of  our  power  in  the  building-up  process.  Such  emphasis 
at  the  end  of  a  composition  or  a  speech  is  sometimes  called 
Climax.  The  various  types  of  rhetorical  sentences — loose, 
periodic,  and  parallel, — which  will  be  discussed  a  little  fur- 
ther on  under  the  subject  of  Variety,  can  be  used  to  excel- 
lent advantage  in  procuring  emphasis,  especially  the  periodic 
and  parallel  types.  Repetition  is  also  a  method  very  often 
used  for  procuring  emphasis.  We  must  be  careful  however 
to  distinguish  between  rhetorical  emphasis  and  the  more 
or  less  awkward  repetition  which  results  from  the  careless 
use  of  the  same  word  too  frequently,  because  of  a  too  nar- 
row vocabulary,  and  which  always  grates  upon  a  reader's 
or  a  listener's  nerves.  If  we  will  refer  back  to  the  para- 
graph from  Dickens'  A  Tale  of  Two  Cities  (page  79), 
we  shall  find  in  that  an  excellent  example  of  rhetorical  repe- 
tition used  for  the  purpose  of  emphasis. 

The  principle  of  variety  is  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant, if  not  the  most  important,  with  which  we  have  to 
deal  when  we  come  to  write  or  speak.  It  has  to  do  with 
the  form  of  our  expression,  rather  than  with  the  content 
and  arrangement  of  material,  as  have  coherence,  unity,  and 
emphasis.  Our  purpose  in  cultivating  variety,  in  trying 
to  acquire  a  varied  form  of  expression  for  our  thoughts,  is 
to  rid  our  work,  written  and  oral,  of  all  possible  monotony. 
We  cannot  of  course  blame  any  one  for  refusing  to  read  the 
work  of  a  monotonous  writer  or  to  listen  to  a  monotonous 
speaker.     We  ourselves  ignore  both  and  we  must  therefore 


THE   WRITTEN    COMPOSITION  187 

see  to  it  that  we  are  neither  of  them.  There  are  so  many 
resources  for  variety,  that  it  is  surprising  that  any  one  is 
ever  monotonous  in  his  expression.  Yet  in  spite  of  all  the 
various  means  of  procuring  this  principle  for  our  work,  we 
are  frequently  confronted  with  people  who  have  a  great  deal 
of  valuable  information  to  impart,  but  who  do  it  in  such  a 
dry-as-dust,  monotonous  way,  that  it  is  impossible  to  give 
them  our  attention.  Let  us  inquire  at  some  length  into  the 
means  of  variety  in  expression. 

We  may  study  words  from  our  dictionaries,  and  thus 
increase  our  vocabulary.  This  will  obviate  the  necessity  of 
monotonous  repetition  of  the  same  word.  We  must  have 
so  many  words  at  our  command  that  it  shall  rarely  if  ever 
be  necessary  for  us  to  use  the  sarne  word  twice  in  close 
succession.  We  must  be  on  intimate  terms  with  such 
words  as,  however,  therefore,  although,  consequently,  more- 
over, notwithstanding,  nevertheless,  albeit,  furthermore, 
and  the  many  others  of  their  kind.  These  words  all  have 
a  very  important  significance  in  establishing  close  and  subtle 
relations  between  our  thoughts  and  we  cannot  afford  to 
ignore  them.  Too  often  we  are  inclined  to  consider  such 
words  as  meaningless,  but  they  are  not.  On  the  contrary 
they  have  the  power  of  giving  shades  of  meaning  which  we 
cannot  indicate  in  our  work  unless  we  use  them. 

In  addition  to  cultivating  a  wide  variety  in  the  choice 
and  use  of  our  words,  we  can  furthermore  cultivate  a  wide 
range  of  variety  in  our  sentences.  Perhaps  the  opportuni- 
ties for  variety  are  greater  here  than  anywhere  else.  We 
must  not  use  the  same  words  at  the  beginning  of  successive 
sentences,  unless  we  do  so  for  purposes  of  emphasis.  If 
we  are  writing  a  composition  about  James  Blank,  we  may 
carelessly  commence  many  sentences  with  ''he".  This  will 
of   course  make   very  monotonous   reading.      We   should 


i88  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

vary  the  words  with  which  we  commence  sentences.  Some- 
times we  may  commence  with  the  subject,  sometimes  not.^ 
It  will  often  be  possible  for  us  to  start  with  a  dependent 
clause,  or  with  a  phrase,  or  with  a  conjunction  (it  is  quite 
proper  to  open  a  sentence  with  ''and"  or  ''but''),  or  with 
an  adverb  or  adjective.  All  of  these  sentence  beginnings, 
and  others  that  will  occur  to  us  as  we  write,  should  be 
used  alternately  or  at  intervals.  We  should  also  vary 
the  length  of  our  sentences.  Some  should  be  long;  some, 
short.  But  the  long  ones  should  not  of  course  all  be  to- 
gether. They  should  be  interspersed  among  the  short 
ones  and  those  of  average  length.  Our  thoughts  vary  in 
length,  from  the  very  long  and  very  involved  to  the  very 
short.  Naturally,  therefore,  the  expression  of  our  thoughts 
must  vary  accordingly.  Again,  we  may  secure  variety  in 
our  sentences  by  the  form  of  expression  we  use.  The  dec- 
larative sentence  is  the  most  common  type  and  in  ordinary 
writing  and  speaking  we  shall  probably  use  it  most.  But 
we  should  occasionally  vary  our  form  of  expression  by  in- 
troducing interrogative,  imperative,  and  exclamatory  sen- 
tences. We  have  a  still  further  means  of  securing  variety 
in  sentence  structure  by  alternating  to  some  degree  the 
grammatical  types  that  we  use, — simple,  compound,  and 
complex.  The  primers  that  we  studied  when  we  were  chil- 
dren seem  laughable  to  us  now,  because  of  their  short, 
simple,  monotonous,  declarative  sentences.  Our  writing 
will  appear  almost  equally  ludicrous  unless  we  are  careful 
to  intermingle  all  these  different  forms  in  it.  Sentences 
are  also  further  classed,  rhetorically,  into  the  loose  sentence, 
or  the  sentence  that  can  be  brought  to  a  close  at  some  place 
or  places  before  the  last  word  of  the  sentence  is  reached; 
the  periodic  sentence,  or  the  sentence  whose  meaning  is  not 
perfectly  complete  until  the  last  word  is  reached;  and  the 


THE   WRITTEN    COMPOSITION  189 

parallel  or  balanced  sentence,  in  which  two  or  more  ideas  in 
words,  phrases,  or  clauses,  are  set  over  against  each  other 
or  balanced,  as  it  were.  These  three  types  may  be  illus- 
trated as  follows : — 

Loose:    John  came  home  from  school  hungry  and  tired,  ||  and 

asked  his  mother  for  something  to  eat. 
Loose:     I  do  not  like  Scott's  books   ||   because  they  are  too 

detailed  and  extended. 
Periodic:    When  John  returned  from  school,  hungry  and  tired, 

he  asked  his  mother  for  something  to  eat. 
Periodic:    Whatever  he  may  do,  I  am  determined  that  I  will 

never  yield. 
Parallel:     Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,   ||   and 

when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it. 
Parallel:     In  the  summer  we  live  in  the  country:   ||   in  the 

winter  we  remain  in  the  city. 

We  should  study  these  sentences  carefully  in  connection  with 
the  definitions  given  above  and  ascertain  for  ourselves 
whether  they  are  true  illustrations.  We  see  that  here  again 
we  have  the  possibility  of  varying  our  sentence  structure 
in  still  another  way.  Moreover,  there  is  almost  infinite 
opportunity  for  variety  in  our  sentence  expression  by  the 
use  of  combinations  which  these  various  sentence  types  offer. 
We  may,  for  instance,  sometimes  write  simple-periodic  sen- 
tences ;  sometimes,  declarative-parallel  sentences ;  sometimes, 
complex-interrogative-loose  sentences;  and  so  on.  If  it 
be  too  much  to  say  that  there  is  no  end  to  these  combina- 
tions, it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  there  is  such  possibility 
of  varied  combination  in  our  sentence  forms  alone  as  to 
make  monotony  of  expression  little  short  of  illiterate,  and 
fit  to  be  classed  with  bad  spelling  and  ungrammatical  sen- 
tence construction. 

In  the  length  and  form  of  our  paragraphs  we  may  also 


190  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

cultivate  the  principle  of  variety.  As  in  sentences,  so  in 
paragraphs,  the  length  should  be  varied.  Long,  short,  and 
medium-sized  paragraphs  should  be  intermingled.  In  form 
our  paragraphs  should  not  always  open  with  the  topic  sen- 
tence. Sometimes  it  should  stand  first ;  sometimes  it  should 
be  the  second,  the  third,  or  the  fourth  sentence  in  the  para- 
graph. We  should  sometimes  have  only  a  summary  sen- 
tence; sometimes  both  topic  and  summary  sentences,  par- 
ticularly in  cases  where  emphasis  is  sought.  Again,  we 
should  use  as  many  as  possible  of  the  various  methods  of 
paragraph  development  in  a  single  composition.  It  would 
be  rather  dull  reading,  if,  in  a  composition  of  ten  para- 
graphs, all  of  them  were  developed  by  the  same  method; 
or  if  all  of  them  began  with  the  same  word,  or  with  the 
same  kind  of  construction.  We  have  seen  also  that  the 
various  methods  of  paragraph  development,  like  the  various 
forms  of  sentences,  may  be  combined,  and  we  should  make 
wide  use  of  this  privilege  in  writing  our  compositions. 

Enough  has  now  been  said  to  show  that  this  very  im- 
portant principle  of  variety  is  easily  attainable:  that,  at 
least,  we  have  almost  unlimited  means  by  which  we  may 
vary  our  expression.  Let  us  cultivate  them  all  from  time 
to  time  and  thus  make  our  writing  as  readable  and  our 
speaking  as  "bearable"  as  possible.  The  various  ways  of 
procuring  variety  which  we  have  just  been  discussing  are 
here  summarized  in  a  bracket  plan : 


THE   WRITTEN   COMPOSITION 


191 


Variety 


In  words 


In  sen- 
tences 


Avoidance  of  repetition 
Use  of  pocket  dictionary 
,  Use  of  such  words  as,  thereforCy  however y  etc. 


In  para- 
graphs' 


Beginnings  of  sentences 


Length  of  sentences 


with  different  words 
with  words  other  than  sub- 
ject 
with  clauses 
with  phrases 
with  conjunctions 

f  long 
\  medium 
I  short 


fdeclarative 
Expression  of  sentences  J  i^^f^^g^tive 
^  exclamatory 

[imperative 

(simple 
compound 
complex 


Rhetorical  sentences 


r loose 
\  periodic 
[  parallel 


{complex  -  imperative  -  peri- 
odic 
simple-declarative-loose 
compound-  interrogative- 
parallel,  etc. 

f  long 
Length  of  paragraphs     \  medium 
I  short 


Position  of  topic  or 
summary  sentence 


Form  of  paragraphs 


Combination  para- 
graphs 


r  first 

\  near  middle   . 

[  last 

{thoroughness 
occurrences 
particulars 
impression 
contrast 

f  intermixture  of  any  of  the 
\  various  forms  designated 
\      by  TOPIC 


192  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 


EXERCISE 

I.  Make  a  complete  study  plan  of  this  chapter. 
(The  running  plans  in  the  table  of  contents  are  much  too 
brief  to  be  used  as  valuable  study  plans.  Do  not  therefore 
be  guided  by  them.) 

II.  Test  some  of  your  own  compositions  for  the 
various  principles  discussed  in  this  chapter,  and  correct 
them. 

III.  Every  conscientious  student  is  his  own  best 
spelling  book.  Make  a  list  of  words  you  have  misspelled  in 
your  compositions.  Study  how  they  should  be  divided  into 
syllables.  Write  them  out  in  a  book  kept  for  the  purpose 
and  accent  the  correction  by  some  means;  as  sepArate — 
o-cca^ion — beneficed — dissatisfy — di^a/?^ear — 

2    1  I       (dis+satis)       i  2 

or  in  some  other  way. 

IV.  Select  some  paragraph  or  chapter  from  a  novel 
you  have  read  in  class.  Test  its  variety  (words,  sentence 
structure,  etc.),  its  coherence,  its  unity,  its  emphasis,  and 
its  sequence.  After  you  have  made  a  careful  study  of  it, 
plan  and  write  a  paragraph  summarizing  that  study. 

V.  Compose  sentences  of  the  following  combina- 
tions : — 

1.  Loose-complex-interrogative. 

2.  Periodic-imperative-simple. 

3.  Parallel-compound-exclamatory. 

4.  Declarative-loose-compound  commencing  with  a  prepo- 
sition. 

5.  Interrogative-periodic-compound,    commencing   with    a 
conjunction. 


THE    WRITTEN    COMPOSITION  193 

.  VI.  Convert  the  following  subjects  into  appropriate 
titles  with  proper  capitalization, — the  snow-covered  moun- 
tain, the  limited  express,  my  new  ambition,  the  pedlar, 
Harry's  carelessness,  ice,  recitations,  a  strange  fellow,  early 
mornings,  why  Bob  failed. 

VII.  What  mistake  are  you  likely  to  make  in  spelling 
each  of  the  following  words?  Find  a  rule  in  a  spelling 
book  for  each  one;  or,  better,  discover  a  rule  of  your  own 
for  helping  you  to  spell  them  correctly.  If  possible,  group 
them  according  to  rule  or  device. 


believing 

joyfully 

referring 

broadening 

manageable 

sealing 

disappoint 

neighbor 

speeches 

dissimilar 

places 

studying 

families 

planing 

suddenness 

folios 

planning 

suffering 

healthful 

potatoes 

turkeys 

heavily 

receipt 

tying 
until 

VIII.  The  sentences  in  the  following  paragraphs  have 
been  disarranged.  Study  them  carefully  to  find  the  proper 
sequence ;  then  rewrite  the  paragraphs. 

I. 

At  the  same  time  the  walk  of  elms,  with  the  croaking  of  the 
ravens,  which  from  time  to  time  are  heard  from  the  tops  of  them, 
looks  exceedingly  solemn  and  venerable.  I  was  taking  a  walk  in 
this  place  last  night,  between  the  hours  of  nine  and  ten,  and 
could  not  but  fancy  it  one  of  the  most  proper  scenes  in  the  world 
for  a  ghost  to  appear  in.  The  place  was  formerly  a  church-yard, 
and  has  still  several  marks  in  it  of  graves  and  burying-places. 
The  ruins  of  the  abbey  are  scattered  up  and  down  on  every 
side,  and  half  covered  with  ivy  and  elder  bushes,  the  harbors  of 
several  solitary  birds  which  seldom  make  their  appearance  till 
the  dusk  of  the  evening.  There  is  such  an  echo  among  the  old 
ruins  and  vaults  that  if  you  stamp  but  a  little  louder  than  ordi- 
nary you  hear  the  sound  repeated.     These  objects  naturally  raise 


194  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

seriousness  and  attention ;  and  when  night  heightens  the  awfuhiess 
of  the  place,  and  pours  out  her  supernumerary  horrors  upon  every- 
thing in  it,  I  do  not  at  all  wonder  that  weak  minds  fill  it  with 
specters  and  apparitions. 


With  this  purpose,  he  led  his  army  down  into  a  plain  near 
Stirling,  called  the  Park,  near  which,  and  beneath  it,  the  Eng- 
lish army  must  needs  pass  through  a  boggy  country,  broken  with 
watercourses,  while  the  Scots  occupied  hard,  dry  ground.  They 
were  filled  with  light  brushwood,  and  the  turf  was  laid  on  the 
top,  so  that  it  appeared  a  plain  field,  while  in  reality  it  was  all 
full  of  these  pits,  as  a  honeycomb  is  of  holes.  He  then  caused  all 
the  ground  upon  the  front  of  his  line  of  battle,  where  cavalry 
were  likely  to  act,  to  be  dug  full  of  holes,  about  as  deep  as  a 
man's  knee.  He  also,  it  is  said,  caused  steel  pikes,  called  cal- 
throps,  to  be  scattered  up  and  down  in  the  plain,  where  the  Eng- 
lish cavalry  were  most  likely  to  advance,  trusting  in  that  manner 
to  lame  and  destroy  their  horses.  Both  these  advantages  he  re- 
solved to  provide  against.  He  knew  the  superiority  of  the 
English,  both  in  their  heavy-armed  cavalry,  which  were  much 
better  mounted  and  armed  than  that  of  the  Scots,  and  in  their 
archers,  who  were  better  trained  than  any  others  in  the  world. 
The  king,  on  his  part,  studied  how  he  might  supply,  by  address 
and  stratagem,  what  he  wanted  in  numbers  and  strength. 

IX.     Rewrite  the  following  sentences  correctly,  giv- 
ing reason  for  the  change  in  each  case : — 

1.  London   is  said  to  have  been   a  great  city. 

2.  When  I  reached  home  yesterday  my  mother  asks  me  where 
I  was. 

3.  As  one  passes  the  house  they  can  see  a  small  garden  in  the 
rear. 

4.  When  one  reads  his  works  you  are  impressed  with  his  large 
vocabulary. 

5.  As  one  walks  to  the  station  they  always  see  a  crowd. 

6.  He  reprimanded  the  pupil  and  then  asks  him  to  bring  a  note 
from  his  parents. 


THE   WRITTEN   COMPOSITION  195 

7.  As  you  enter  John's  room  one  sees  a  picture  of  his  father 
hanging  over  the  piano. 

8.  Playing  ball  gives  one  the  exercise  that  they  desire. 

9.  The  colonists  were  obstinate  but  it  was  right. 

10.  Henry  comes  into  the  room  and  said  I  was  wanted  outside. 

11.  We  received  a  telegram  saying  that  he  was  coming  to-day. 

12.  We  were  told  that  Berlin  was  the  capital  of  Germany. 

13.  As  he  walked  into  the  room  one  could  hear  the  buzz  of  many 
voices. 

14.  As  soon  as  one  enters  the  room  he  sees  himself  in  the  mirror. 

15.  He  said  that  the  air  we  breathe  was  full  of  impurities. 

X.  To  each  of  the  following  statements  add  a  clause 
commencing  with  hence,  therefore,  consequently,  however, 
nevertheless,  furthermore,  or  some  other  similar  word : 

1.  Robert  came  home  from  school  ill 

2.  There  were  only  three  present  at  the  meeting 

3.  That  was  the  worst  thing  he  could  have  said 

4.  His  failure  disappointed  him  of  course 

5.  When  I  returned  he  was  still  waiting 

6.  At  last  he  came 

7.  They  were  in  a  sad  dilemma 

8.  He  still  hopes  to  pass 

9.  There  they  were  waving  to  us  from  the  shore 

10.  After  it  is  all  over  you  will  be  extremely  happy 


CHAPTER  X 

THE    ORAL   COMPOSITION 

We  must  again  bear  in  mind  that  practically  everything 
that  was  said  in  Chapter  IX  about  the  written  composition 
applies  with  equal  force  to  the  oral  composition.  We  must 
get  the  idea  out  of  our  heads,  that  written  language  and 
oral  language  are  separate  and  independent  from  one  an- 
other. They  are  one  and  the  same  thing,  being  different 
only  in  form.  We  seem  to  take  oral  expression  for  granted. 
It  seems  to  be  impossible  for  us,  careless  as  we  sometimes 
are  in  our  written  work,  to  be  even  as  careful  in  our  oral 
discourse.  The  paper,  the  pen,  the  ink  seem  to  add  a  bit 
of  formidable  glamor,  bidding  us  **take  care",  for  all  of  us 
are  a  little  more  careful  (most  of  us  a  great  deal  more  so) 
about  our  writing  than  about  our  speaking.  Now,  it  is  trite 
to  say  that  we  should  always  speak  clearly  and  correctly; 
that  we  should  pronounce  our  words  accurately;  that  we 
should  cultivate  a  good  voice;  and  all  the  rest  of  it.  We 
have  heard  it  so  many  times  before.  But  the  mere  telling 
will  in  nowise  help  us.  We  must  have  the  slovenliness  and 
the  carelessness  of  our  common  speech  brought  home  to  us, 
if  possible,  in  such  a  way  as  to  embarrass  us  perhaps,  before 
some  of  us  shall  be  able  to  help  ourselves  out  of  the  slough 
of  illiteracy.  Just  as  in  writing  we  should  aim  at  perfec- 
tion in  the  smallest,  most  obvious  details,  so  in  speaking  we 
should  endeavor  to  speak  even  the  simplest  word  we  have 

196 


THE  ORAL  COMPOSITION  197 

to  speak  in  such  a  way  as  not  only  to  convey  our  meaning, 
but  to  give  pleasure  to  those  who  hear  it  as  well. 

In  this  chapter,  however,  we  are  to  study  chiefly  about 
the  oral  speech,  the  speech  that  we  are  called  upon  to  deliver 
before  our  class,  or  before  our  school,  or  in  the  literary  club 
of  which  of  course  we  are  all  members.  It  is  a  strange  and 
unfortunate  thing  that  there  is  nothing  most  of  us  dislike 
more  than  making  a  speech  before  others  for  the  sake  of 
training,  when,  at  the  same  time,  there  is  nothing  that  is 
calculated  to  do  us  more  good  or  for  which  we  shall  be 
more  heartily  thankful  when  we  grow  older.  To  be  able 
to  stand  upon  our  feet,  face  men,  and  tell  them  clearly  and 
forcibly  of  some  experience,  or  what  we  think,  or  what 
our  convictions  are  about  some  live  topic,  is  the  most  valu- 
able power  we  can  have,  and  we  should  strive  here  and  now 
to  attain  it;  we  should  eagerly  take  hold  of  every  oppor- 
tunity that  presents  itself  for  the  cultivation  of  such  power. 

We  are  sometimes  deterred  from  making  the  most  of 
our  opportunities  in  this  line  because  of  shyness  and  ner- 
vousness, forgetting  that  these  qualities  are  to  be  overcome, 
and  not  to  overcome  us;  that  Nature  has  given  us  the 
strength  to  subdue  them  and  expects  us  to  do  it ;  and  that  in 
nine  cases  out  of  ten  the  intensely  shy  and  nervous  person 
makes  the  best  speaker  after  self-control  has  been  acquired. 
The  very  greatest  actors  and  orators,  it  is  well  known,  were 
obliged  to  fight  against  nervousness  persistently  and  contin- 
uously oftentimes  for  years,  before  they  attained  their  suc- 
cess. But  they  never  gave  up  the  fight,  and  when  they 
finally  won,  we  know  that  their  victory,  their  success,  was 
proportionately  brilliant  as  their  struggle  had  been  difficult. 
Even  after  their  success  was  assured,  they  tell  us  that  they 
were  always  nervous  for  a  little  while  at  the  beginning  of 
every  public  appearance.     Indeed,  a  noted  actor  once  told 


igS  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

a  body  of  students  that  he  would  be  very  scared  if  he  were 
not  nervous  when  he  first  went  on  the  stage  to  play  a  great 
role,  even  though  he  had  played  it  hundreds  of  times.  It 
is  little  short  of  cowardly  to  be  afraid  of  nervousness.  The 
normally  healthy  student,  instead  of  being  afraid,  should 
welcome  it,  for  it  gives  him  an  opportunity  to  test  himself, 
and  to  make  mind  prevail  over  matter. 

Once  on  our  feet  before  an  audience  we  can  best  for- 
get all  about  ourselves  and  all  nervousness  therefore,  even 
forget  our  audience,  by  concentrating  upon  the  subject  we 
are  going  to  talk  about.  We  shall  thus  find  ourselves  mas- 
ters of  the  ''oral  situation"  by  losing  or  giving  ourselves 
up  to  the  matter  we  have  to  discuss.  This  can  never  be 
done  unless  we  are  keenly  interested  in  our  subject  and  of 
course  we  should  not  attempt  to  talk  on  subjects  in  which 
we  have  no  interest.  But  this  concentration,  this  ignoring 
of  everything  and  everybody  except  the  thing  we  are  going 
to  talk  about,  is  the  secret  of  success  at  the  beginning  of 
public  speaking.  Ministers  often  tell  us  that  it  is  much 
easier  to  pray  than  it  is  to  speak,  because  when  they  pray 
they  close  their  eyes  and  retire  within  themselves  to  what 
they  have  to  say,  as  it  were.  They  are  not  disconcerted 
by  seeing  people.  And  we  know  how  much  easier  it  is 
to  read  before  a  class  than  it  is  to  speak,  because  we  have 
the  book  before  us  to  concentrate  upon.  Well,  we  must 
likewise  cultivate  the  habit  of  concentrating  upon  the  sub- 
ject matter  of  our  speech,  though  it  is  not  in  a  book  before 
us,  but  in  our  heads,  and  though  it  is,  therefore,  more  dif- 
ficult to  "see."  But,  as  we  have  intimated,  difficulties 
should  be  the  keenest  appetizers. 

Another  aid  to  the  overcoming  of  nervousness  is  cor- 
rect breathing.  We  are  apt  to  use  only  the  upper  part  of 
our  lungs  for  breathing  unless  we  pay  careful  heed  to  it. 


THE   ORAL   COMPOSITION  199 

Such  a  natural  physical  function  as  breathing,  we  think, 
perhaps,  ought  to  take  care  of  itself.  And  so  it  would  if 
we  were  altogether  natural  creatures.  But  we  are  not ;  the 
rush  and  tear  of  our  modern  life  makes  us  very  artificial 
and  very  nervous,  and  this  nervousness  makes  for  short, 
shallow  breathing.  Instead  of  taking  deep,  long  breaths, 
we  breathe  in  flutters.  This  is  never  conducive  to  poise 
and  self-control.  We  have  in  our  bodies,  beneath  our  lung 
cavities,  a  sort  of  divisional  organ  called  the  diaphragm. 
This  acts  as  a  bellows  or  regulator  for  our  breathing,  if  we 
permit  it  so  to  act.  When  we  take  a  deep,  long  breath,  this 
presses  downward  and  outward ;  when  we  exhale,  it  moves 
in  the  opposite  directions.  But  when  we  breathe  in  our  up- 
per lung  capacity  only,  this  organ  is  not  called  into  play  at 
all ;  there  is  no  forcing  power  in  that  part  of  our  bodies,  and 
consequently  no  air  expulsion  and  refreshment  in  the  lower 
parts  of  our  lungs.  Diaphragmatic  breathing,  therefore, 
must  be  insisted  upon,  not  only  to  help  us  in  overcoming  our 
nervousness,  and  to  give  us  poise  and  self-control,  but  also 
to  force  impure  air  out  of  our  lungs  and  to  supply  the  whole 
of  our  lung  area  with  pure  air  and  renewed  power.  We 
should  take  daily  exercise  in  breathing, — long,  deep,  quiet 
breathing  in  pure  fresh  air,  until  we  can  trust  ourselves  to 
breathe  properly  without  being  conscious  of  it. 

Correct  breathing  will  also  improve  the  voice.  The 
slight,  husky,  nasal,  uncontrollable  voice  of  the  fluttering 
breather  will  be  changed  into  a  deep,  resonant,  manageable 
one  by  gaining  mastery  over  the  breathing.  Nature  really 
gave  us  all  good  voices,  but  we  have  neglected  this,  as  we 
have  so  many  other  of  her  gifts.  Not  only  do  we  smother 
the  voice  by  our  improper  breathing,  but  we  do  not  open 
our  mouths  when  we  talk ;  we  speak  with  our  teeth  together  ; 
we  do  not  give  the  voice  a  chance  to  do  its  best  for  us.     Of 


200  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

course  all  of  this  should  be  corrected.  We  should  not  at- 
tempt to  speak  until  we  have  taken  a  good  long  inhalation 
of  air.  Then  we  should  allow  our  voices  to  play  over  the 
exhalation,  exhaling  very  slowly  and  holding  reserve  power 
in  our  lungs  as  long  as  possible.  Speaking  when  the  lungs 
are  only  partially  filled  or  nearly  empty  not  only  gives  poor 
voice  but  exhausts  us  physically.  And  that  nasality,  for 
which  we  Americans  are  so  justly  condemned,  can  be  over- 
come only  by  careful  management  of  the  breathing  and 
proper  opening  of  the  mouth.  Our  vocal  cords  are  useless 
as  sound  creators.  They  are  vocal  only  because  of  the  air 
passing  through  them  and  setting  up  vibrations. 

There  are  questions  of  form  for  us  to  consider  when 
we  are  delivering  an  oral  composition  before  an  audience  of 
classmates  or  elsewhere.  By  this  we  mean  that  we  should 
always  carry  ourselves  with  ease  and  dignity.  A  slovenly 
carriage  ever  implies  that  we  are  slovenly  in  breathing,  in 
thinking,  in  voice,  in  pronunciation, — in  everything.  If 
we  drag  our  feet,  if  we  constantly  have  our  hands  in  our 
pockets,  if  we  stand  on  one  foot  and  allow  one  shoulder  to 
droop  accordingly,  if  we  become  stooped, — if  we  do  any 
one  of  these  things  we  shall  be  somewhat  justified  in  being 
very  nervous  on  appearing  before  an  audience.  Our  pres- 
ence will  certainly  not  be  prepossessing.  We  must  of  course 
stand  erect,  carry  our  heads  high,  step  with  vim,  and  be 
happy  that  we  have  hands  for  people  to  see  and  for  us  to 
use  in  helping  to  express  ourselves. 

Gesture  merely  for  the  sake  of  gesture  is  always  ridicu- 
lous. But  gestures  that  are  spontaneous,  that  are  made  as 
a  result  of  feeling  rather  than  as  a  result  of  imitation  or 
for  the  purpose  of  show,  are  the  most  impressive  and  valu- 
able aids  in  assisting  us  to  accent  our  points.  The  trouble 
is,  we  do  not  allow  gestures  ''to  come''  oftentimes  when  we 


THE   ORAL   COMPOSITION  ^oi 

do  feel  the  impulse  for  them.  We  hold  ourselves  tense, 
even  though  our  hands  do  want  to  go,  and  tell  us  so  un- 
mistakably. But  when  we  are  talking  to  our  fellows,  we 
practice  no  such  suppression.  Then  we  gesture  freely,  nat- 
urally, and  therefore  gracefully.  In  spite  of  all  the  so-called 
rules  there  are  no  rules  for  holding  or  using  the  hands  and 
fingers.  We  shall  need  none,  if  we  will  allow  them  to  use 
themselves  whenever  they  wish  to  do  so.  If  we  are  inter- 
ested in  our  subject  and  have  strong  convictions  and  feelings 
about  it,  our  thoughts  as  expressed  by  us  in  language  will 
notify  our  hands  when  they  want  their  help.  Then  we 
must  not  deny  the  assistance  requested.  No  gesture  is 
really  awkward  that  springs  spontaneously  in  accompani- 
ment to  sincere  thought  and  feeling.  We  should  therefore 
use  no  force  to  suppress  gestures.  In  whatever  form  they 
may  insist  upon  manifesting  themselves,  we  must  let  them 
come;  for,  sincerely  made,  they  are  often  more  eloquent 
than  any  words  we  may  be  able  to  summon.  We  have 
heard  that  actions  speak  louder  than  words.  We  must  re- 
member at  the  same  time  also  that  gestures  inserted  with- 
out spontaneity  will  weaken  the  effect  of  the  strongest 
words  we  may  be  able  to  speak. 

The  pocket  dictionary  is  an  invaluable  possession  for 
the  study  of  correct  pronunciation  and  we  must  use  it  for 
this  purpose  quite  as  much  perhaps  as  for  the  correction  of 
wrong  spelling.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  for  the  study 
of  the  laws  of  pronunciation,  the  values  of  vowels  and  con- 
sonants, and  their  modifications  and  inflections,  we  shall  be 
obliged  to  go  to  the  large  dictionary  in  company  with  our 
instructors  and  take  lessons  in  '*How  to  Use  the  Diction- 
ary''. We  may  think  we  know  how  to  use  it,  but  we  may 
also  be  mistaken  in  this.  It  should  be  a  matter  of  pride 
with  us  to  finger  the  fewest  possible  number  of  leaves  in 


202  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

turning  to  the  word  we  want  to  find.  We  should  always 
make  use  of  the  thumb  index  in  looking  up  a  word.  We 
should  study  in  the  introduction  of  any  good  unabridged 
dictionary  the  meaning  of  the  various  diacritical  marks; 
such  as, 

breve — macron — dot — diaeresis — wave — cedilla — circumflex — etc., 


for  many  of  us  perhaps  do  not  know  how  to  pronounce  a 
word  after  we  find  it,  owing  to  the  fact  that  these  marks, 
indicating  quantity,  accent,  etc.,  are  not  understood  by  us. 
We  should  also  familiarize  ourselves  in  this  introduction 

(i)   with  the  classification  of  vowels,  diphthongs,  and  digraphs, 

(2)  with  special  consonant  sounds, — c  in  such  words  as  cell, 
city,  cut,  cot;  g  in  such  words  as  get,  gain,  gin,  gist; 
ch  in  chorus,  chord,  chair,  chore;  th  in  thin,  worth,  then, 
smooth,  that,  those;  ^  in  so,  this,  wise,  has;  etc.,  etc.;  (we 
must  know  why  these  letters  or  combinations  are  pro- 
nounced sometimes  one  way,  sometimes  another),  and 

(3)  with  accent  (primary  and  secondary)  especially  in  such 
words  as, — abject,  accent,  address,  compensate,  condolence, 
construe,  consummate,  demonstrate,  detail,  discourse,  en- 
velop, essay,  illustrate,  etc.,  etc. 

But  even  when  we  are  fully  aware  of  the  correct  pro- 
nunciation of  a  word  we  are  often  very  careless  and  slov- 
enly in  its  use.  We  know  but  we  do  not  do.  Yet  these 
two  words  are  synonyms.  The  pupil  who  says  he  knows 
but  cannot  express  himself  simply  does  not  know  fully; 
for  the  expression  of  any  knowledge  should  itself  be  a 
part  of  that  knowledge.  If  we  know  fully  and  accurately 
how  to  pronounce  our  words, — and  there  is  no  reason  why 
we  should  not, — we  must  pronounce  them  correctly.  But 
failure  to  breathe  properly,  failure  to  open  the  mouth,  fail- 


THE    ORAL   COMPOSITION  203 

ure  to  manipulate  the  tongue  and  adjust  the  lips,  hurry  and 
quickness  in  speaking, — all  of  these  common  faults  mar  the 
pronunciation  as  they  impair  the  voice;  and  it  would  seem 
that  even  though  we  knozv  that  we  are  guilty  of  gross  errors 
in  pronunciation,  enunciation,  and  articulation,  we  never- 
theless allow  them  to  go  uncorrected.  We  drop  the  "g'' 
from  words  ending  in  "ing";  we  say  ''daredn't''  for 
'"daren't";  we  use  the  letter  ''r"  at  the  ends  of  words 
when  we  should  not  use  it,  and  omit  it  when  we  should 
use  it;  and  so  on.  We  know  better  in  almost  every  case. 
But  there  is  perhaps  a  feeling  among  us  that  a  person  who 
enunciates  distinctly  is  affected,  that  so  long  as  wx  make 
ourselves  understood  we  are  doing  all  that  is  necessary. 
These  are  of  course  false  notions.  If  they  were  true  in 
principle,  then  we  should  have  nothing  but  noise  for  music, 
nothing  but  color  for  painting. 

There  follows  just  below  a  list  of  words  and  phrases 
accompanied  by  the  improper  use  or  slovenly  pronuncia- 
tion we  so  often  give  them.  The  list  is  not  exhaustive  in 
any  sense.  It  should  be  supplemented  by  us  from  time  to 
time  as  we  hear  or  as  we  are  conscious  of  using  other  bad 
forms.  Only  by  means  of  this  ''checking  up''  process  exer- 
cised on  ourselves  as  well  as  others,  and  by  the  faithful  use 
of  the  dictionary,  can  we  hope  to  overcome  the  stubborn 
and  slovenly  habit  of  crude  and  vulgar  pronunciation. 


DO   NOT 

USE 

a 

for 

have  (could-a) 

aggravating 

for 

provoking 

ain't 

for 

am  not  or  is  not  or  are  not 

a  little  ways 

for 

a  little  way 

allude 

for 

mention 

an 

for 

and 

attacted 

for 

attacked 

atheletic 

for 

athletic 

awfully 

for 

very 

204 


COMPOSITION   PLANNING 


awn 

azid 

beseeched 

bet 

between 

between 

bring 

can 

calculate 

cham-pe'-on 

de 

den 

det 

dey 

don't 

don*t  che 

different  than 

dis 

dooty 

drownded 

dunno 

effect 

et 

except 

few 

fing-er 

fowt 

fit 

funny 

gimme 

git 

good 

guess 

gwan 

had 

hadn't  ought 

healthy 

hern 

hoird 

hisn 

hisself 

histry 

hurted    V 

hoirted  / 

illusion 

in 

jist 

kin 

laid 

learn 

leave 


for 

on 

for 

acid 

for 

besieged 

for 

beat 

for 

among 

to  refer  to  one  object 

for 

carry  or  take 

for 

may 

for 

intend 

for 

champion 

for 

the 

for 

then 

for 

death 

for 

they 

for 

doesn't 

for 

don't  you 

for 

different  from 

for 

this 

for 

duty 

for 

drowned 

for 

don't  know 

for 

affect 

for 

ate 

for 

accept 

for 

the  expression  of  quantity 

for 

finger 

for 

fought 

for 

fight 

for 

odd 

for 

give  me 

for 

get 

for 

well 

for 

imagine  or  think 

for 

go  on 

with 

ought 

for 

shouldn't 

for 

healthful 

for 

hers 

for 

heard  (and  others) 

for 

his 

for 

himself 

for 

history    (and   other   slurred   pro- 

nunciations) 

for 

hurt 

for 

allusion 

for 

ing  (the  mutilated  ending) 

for 

just 

for 

can 

for 

imperfect  tense  of  lie  (lay) 

for 

teach 

for 

let 

THE   ORAL   COMPOSITION 


205 


less 

for 

number 

like 

for 

as 

like 

as 

a  conjunction 

lookit 

for 

look  at  or  look  out 

love 

for 

like 

'm 

for 

him,  them  (I  told  'm) 

mad 

for 

vexed  or  angry 

me 

for 

my 

most 

for 

almost 

mudder 

for 

mother  (fader,  brudder) 

mutual 

for 

common 

naow 

for 

now 

nuss 

for 

ness 

nuther 

for 

another 

onto 

for 

unto 

party- 

for 

person 

propose 

for 

purpose  or  intend 

quantity 

for 

number 

quite 

as 

an  adjective 

real 

for 

very 

reckon  ^ 

for 

think 

say  or  listen  (or  both) 

as 

a  preface  to  some  remark 

set 

for 

past  tense  of  sit  (sat) 

soar 

for 

saw  (the  "r"  trouble) 

some 

for 

somewhat 

something 

as 

an  adverb 

statue 

for 

statute  or  stature 

te-aye'-ter 

for 

theater 

that 

as 

an  adverb  instead  of  "so** 

these  and  those 

to  modify  sort  or  kind 

tief 

for 

thief 

ting 

for 

thing 

tree 

for 

three 

trew 

for 

threw 

tru 

for 

through 

unce 

for 

ence 

ur 

for 

or 

verbal 

for 

oral 

wid 

for 

with 

witness 

for 

see 

wot 

for 

what 

wot-che 

for 

what  you 

wunt 

for 

wont 

wunto 

for 

want  to 

wunst 

for 

once 

wuz 

for 

was 

yourn 

for 

yours 

youse 

for 

you 

But  if  we  make  gross  and  illiterate  errors  in  the  use 
of  single  words,  it  is  but  natural  that  we  should  also  violate 


2o6  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

the  rules  of  their  relations  when  they  are  used  with  one  an- 
other. We  are  careless  perhaps  in  observing  the  gram- 
matical relations  between  words;  we  make  errors  in  our 
usage  of  words;  we  indulge  in  uncouth  and  awkward  epi- 
thets ;  we  make  tiresome  repetitions ;  and  so  on.  The  most 
common  of  these  mistakes  to  which  we  are  perhaps  ad- 
dicted are  summarized  below.  Here  again  it  is,  of  course, 
likewise  impossible  to  be  exhaustive.  All  of  us  have 
grammatical  troubles  just  as  we  have  troubles  in  pronuncia- 
tion and  enunciation,  that  are  peculiarly  our  own.  The 
only  road  to  improvement  is  to  be  keenly  and  constantly  on 
our  guard.  Doctors  tell  us  that  patients  can  often  do  more 
toward  bringing  about  their  own  recovery  by  trying  to  get 
well  than  any  amount  of  prescribed  medicine  can  do.  The 
same  thing  is  true  of  our  grammatical  ills, — if  we  try  to 
effect  recovery  we  can  do  much  toward  genuine  health. 
Books  and  teachers  can  offer  us  only  certain  aids  and  sug- 
gestions by  way  of  treatment,  but  we  are  our  own  best  phy- 
sicians. The  following  hints  are  offered,  therefore,  as 
helpful  suggestions  only.  Each  one  of  us  must  do  much 
more  for  himself  than  can  be  done  here,  or  anywhere  else. 
We  should  strive  to  avoid 

1.  Illiterate  epithets  and  idioms : — 

This  here — them  there — he  don't — I  seen — she  sung — he 
come  (for  imperfect  tense) — the  double  negative  (ain't 
got  none) — the  double  superlative  (most  fullest  glass)  — 
end  up — off  of — start  in — ^hadn't  ought — I  done — get  a 
book  off  him — bunk  into — feel  badly,  etc. 

2.  The  misuse  of  such  words  as : — 

Like,  as — beside,  besides — shall,  will — if,  whether — ex- 
cept, without,  unless — in,  into — lie,  lay — sit,  set — can,  may 
— bring,  take — good,  well,  etc. 


THE   ORAL   COMPOSITION  207 

3.     Hesitation  and  its  consequences : — 

The  "endless  chain''  sentence  (connection  of  all  ideas  by 
*'and-a"). — The  use  of  "well-a"  ''why-a",  "now-a"  and 
worst  of  all  "say"  or  "say-a"  within  or  at  the  beginnings 
of  sentences. — The  constant  use  of  "then"  after  the  sub- 
ject (John  then  went). — The  double  subject  (John  he 
went). — The  confusion  of  proximity,  causing  us  to 
use  a  plural  predicate  with  a  singular  subject,  or 
vice  versa,  (Each  of  the  boys  were  there). — The  general 
use  of  plural  verbs  with  such  subjects  as, — each,  every- 
one, any,  either,  neither,  etc. — The  nominative  case  after 
"between",  (Between  you  and  /). — The  disagreement  of 
pronouns  with  their  antecedents. — Failure  to  use  a  sum- 
marizing word  after  having  used  a  long  complex  subject. 
— The  use  of  two  introductory  words  to  introduce  a 
noun  clause,  (He  says  how  that  his  mother  is  ill). — The 
use  of  stock  and  hackneyed  expressions,  (He  took  in 
the  situation  at  a  glance). — The  use  of  slang,  (if  per- 
mitted on  occasion,  it  should  be  so  phrased  by  the  voice 
as  to  imply  to  our  hearers  that  its  better  equivalent  is  in 
reserve;  in  writing,  it  should  of  course  be  placed  in 
quotation  marks). 

The  ability  to  converse  gracefully  and  freely  with  others 
cannot  be  too  highly  commended.  To  this  end  we  should 
organize  conversational  clubs  among  our  fellows.  The  time 
may  come  (we  hope  soon)  when  educators  will  see  that  it 
is  quite  as  important  to  have  conversational  classes  in  Eng- 
lish as  it  is  to  have  them  in  French  and  German  and  other 
foreign  languages.  But,  until  they  do,  we  should  organ- 
ize among  ourselves  for  drill  and  cultivation  in  conversa- 
tion. It  is  the  most  important  thing  in  the  world  for  us  to 
know^  how  to  talk  with  one  another  fluently,  gracefully,  and 
correctly.  Not  only  should  we  find  that  such  an  organiza- 
tion would  teach  us  politeness  in  conversation,  teach  us  not 
to  break  in  upon  one  another  abruptly,  but  it  would  beget 


2o8  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

in  us  also  the  additional  power  to  make  ready  and  appro- 
priate contributions  to  conversation.  This  power  and  the 
power  to  make  clever  and  witty  reply,  known  as  repartee, 
can  be  acquired  only  by  exercise.  But  once  acquired  we 
shall  have  an  invaluable  possession.  There  are  some  who 
fancy  that,  whenever  they  are  thrown  among  people  so- 
cially, they  must  tell  jokes.  They  study  a  good  joke  book 
before  going  to  a  dinner,  and  then  oblige  everybody  pres- 
ent to  become  a  hypocrite  in  pretending  to  appreciate  their 
borrowed  and  often  antiquated  humor.  There  is  of  course 
much  to  be  said  in  favor  of  the  good  story,  appropriately 
applied  and  well  told.  But  never  can  it  take  the  place  of 
the  sparkling,  spontaneous  wit  that  bubbles  over  in  every 
direction  from  the  tongue  of  a  clever  conversationalist. 
Let  us  then  make  it  a  point  to  talk  as  well  and  as  interest- 
ingly as  we  can  on  all  proper  occasions, — at  table,  in  cars, 
at  recess;  with  our  fellows  and  with  our  elders.  Let  us 
also  listen  intelligently  to  the  conversation  of  others,  that 
we  may  observe  merits  and  defects  and  thereby  profit  our- 
selves. The  living  word  is  nowhere  more  delightful  than 
in  conversation.  It  is  unfortunate,  then,  that  in  this  prosaic 
age  we  have  come  to  regard  conversation  too  much  as  a 
means,  and  not  sufficiently  as  an  end  in  itself;  we  make  it 
a  commodity  of  intercourse  rather  than  an  art  and  a  very 
fine  one;  we  are  too  utilitarian  in  our  view  of  the  use  and 
purpose  of  language,  and  not  sufficiently  artistic. 

There  are  two  distinct  types  of  speaking,  prepared  and 
unprepared  or  extemporaneous.  Prepared  speaking  al- 
ways implies  that  we  have  memorized  the  words  of  another, 
or  of  our  own  after  having  written  them,  in  order  to 
deliver  them  to  an  audience.  The  forms  of  prepared  speak- 
ing are  recitation,  oratory,  argument,  and  impersonation. 
The  order  in  which  they  are  here  named  is  the  order  in 


THE    ORAL   COMPOSITION  209 

which  we  should  study  them.  Recitation,  the  simplest  and 
commonest,  is  the  delivery  from  memory  of  the  words, 
either  prose  or  poetry,  usually  of  another,  with  the  aim 
of  giving  it  whatever  feeling  and  expression  we  think  its 
author  intended  it  to  have.  Oratory,  the  next  simplest 
form,  may  mean  the  memorizing  of  the  great  orations  of 
literature  and  delivering  them  to  an  audience,  or,  better, 
the  memorizing  of  orations  we  have  ourselves  written,  for 
presentation.  Oratory  should  have  in  it  forensic  elements; 
elements,  that  is,  that  call  for  the  expression  of  strong  con- 
victions or  beliefs  or  feelings  in  connection  with  the  sub- 
ject treated.  Argument,  considered  as  a  prepared  type  of 
speaking,  implies  that  our  argument  has  been  written  out 
word  for  word  and  memorized.  It  can  rarely  be  the  writ- 
ing of  another  that  we  memorize  in  argument.  Like  ora- 
tory, it  calls  for  strong  conviction  and  feeling  about  its 
subject.  Impersonation  is  the  most  difficult  of  the  prepared 
forms  of  speaking.  It  implies  the  memorizing  of  the 
lines  in  a  dramatic  piece  of  work  and  the  full  identification 
of  one's  self  with  the  characters  who  speak  them.  The 
work  of  the  actor  and  of  the  public  reciter  is  the  work  of 
the  impersonator.  It  is  a  very  difficult  work  indeed,  and 
one  that  depends  more  upon  native  gift  and  talent  for  suc- 
cess than  do  any  of  the  other  forms. 

Under  the  unprepared  types  of  oral  expression  (known 
variously  as  extemporaneous,  extempore,  and  impromptu 
speaking)  occur  all  of  the  forms  of  our  ordinary  communi- 
cation with  one  another,  all  forms  of  speech.  Conver- 
sation is  the  simplest  and  most  obvious  kind.  It  may  take 
the  form  of  ordinary  social  intercourse;  or  it  may  take  on 
the  more  distinctly  commercial  aspect  of  secretarial  or  rep- 
resentative conversation.  The  secretary,  the  salesman,  the 
repre.sent^tiye;  the  interpreter, — all  such  officials  have  to  be 


210  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

trained  conversationalists, — conversationalists  for  definite 
business  purposes,  rather  than  for  social  pastime  or  delight. 
But  they  cannot  depend  very  much  upon  the  verbatim  mem- 
orizing of  words.  They  must  be  ready  to  meet  any  emer- 
gency by  way  of  speaking.  They  must  dictate  letters  off- 
hand ;  they  must  interview  strangers  on  a  moment's  notice ; 
they  must  persuade ;  they  must  quickly  discern  the  meaning 
of  one  man  and  put  it  into  intelligible  form  for  another. 
In  short,  they  must  be  experts  in  ready  oral  expression. 
And,  of  course,  they  can  become  experts  only  by  long  prac- 
tice and  constant  care.  But  here,  as  in  after-dinner  speak- 
ing, as  in  telling  jokes  gracefully,  as  in  standing  before 
others  and  giving  terse,  pointed  speeches  or  replies  to 
speeches,  much  naturally  depends  .upon  native  talent. 
There  is,  to  be  sure,  such  a  thing  as  a  gift  for  speaking,  but 
we  are  all  inclined  to  place  too  much  importance  upon  this 
in  others,  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  its  discovery  in  our- 
selves. We  can  all  of  us  acquire  the  ability  of  making  a 
graceful  speech  in  public,  no  matter  what  type  of  speech  we 
be  called  upon  to  make;  and  cultivation  of  and  practice  in 
these  briefer,  more  obvious  forms  will  soon  enable  us  to 
stand  before  an  audience  and  make  an  address  of  much 
greater  length  entirely  extemporaneously. 

A  good  deal  of  argument  is  made  extempore,  or  is  de- 
livered with  only  the  plan  as  a  guide.  Extempore  argu- 
ment is  an  excellent  exercise,  but,  for  the  sake  of  the  argu- 
ment as  well  as  in  justice  to  the  speaker,  it  should  not  be 
attempted  until  one  has  had  considerable  experience  in  the 
other  forms  of  impromptu  speaking.  It  is  quite  enough  at 
first  to  be  obliged  to  stand  before  an  audience  and  talk 
without  any  preparation  whatever.  But  to  do  this  and  in 
addition  feel  that  we  are  pitted  against  another  is  too 
much  for  the  beginner  in  extempore  speaking.     We  should 


THE   ORAL   COMPOSITION  211 

practice  first  in  the  simpler  forms, — conversation,  jokes, 
speeches  before  our  class,  announcements,  reviews  of  stories, 
etc., — before  making  an  attempt  at  that  form  which  not 
only  calls  for  clearer  and  quicker  thinking  than  any  other, 
but  in  addition  antagonizes  us  to  another  at  the  very  out- 
set. As  a  beginning  in  extemporaneous  argument,  it  is 
excellent  training  for  a  student  to  have  rapid  questions 
directed  at  him  by  the  members  of  his  class  or  club,  and 
attempt  to  answer  them.  In  this  way  he  will  be  enabled 
to  overcome  that  unreadiness  and  bewilderment  which  may 
embarrass  him  at  first.  Such  drill  will  be  of  infinite  value 
also  in  the  answering  of  questions  by  teachers  and  in  the 
ordinary  recitation.  The  properly  phrased,  well-enunciated 
answers  to  such  questions  should  be  given  as  much  consid- 
eration as  the  content,  when  it  comes  to  assigning  credit. 
And  not  only  this,  but  also  the  position  and  general  attitude 
assumed  by  us  while  answering  questions  should  be  made 
to  count  for  or  against  us. 

There  is  not  a  situation  in  unprepared  speaking,  how- 
ever, that  we  shall  not  be  able  to  meet,  if  we  have  care- 
fully pondered  over  the  matter  of  planning,  as  we  have 
studied  it  in  this  book,  and  if  we  observe  the  simple  advice 
given  in  this  chapter.  We  shall  not  of  course  have  as  much 
time  to  plan  our  material  for  oral  work  as  for  written,  but 
the  organizing  habit  which,  it  is  hoped,  we  have  by  this 
time  formed  will  "save"  us  wherever,  however,  whenever 
we  may  be  placed  for  impromptu  work  in  speaking.  Im- 
mediately we  are  called  upon  for  a  speech,  we  must  com- 
mence to  organize  our  knowledge  on  the  topic  assigned, 
however  brief,  however  incomplete  that  organization  or 
plan  may  have  to  be.  While  taking  our  place  before  an 
audience,  instead  of  wondering  how  we  look,  how  we  shall 
"make  out",  whether  we  shall  fail,  we  should  be  deciding 


212  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

exactly  what  point  number  one  is  going  to  be  in  our  speech, 
what  we  shall  say  under  heading  number  two,  etc.  If  we 
have  no  time  to  get  further  than  point  one  in  our  mental 
plan,  let  that  make  no  difference.  ''Well  begun  is  half 
done."  If  we  have  only  one  point  of  our  progress  well  in 
mind,  the  strong  probabilities  are  that  we  shall  have  no 
difficulty  in  following  it  up  sequentially  and  successfully. 
We  must  be  able  to  match  the  suddenness  of  the  call  to  an 
impromptu  speech  with  our  alertness  to  systematize  the 
knowledge  we  have  of  the  subject  assigned.  This  will  dis- 
place nervousness  with  concentration,  and  will  prevent  our 
falling  into  an  unintelligible  confusion. 

Such  subjects  as  inflection,  modulation,  pitch,  rate, 
force,  emphasis,  pause,  phrasing,  and  subordination  belong 
more  exclusively  to  the  study  of  elocution,  so  here  we  shall 
touch  only  upon  those  subjects  which  we  ourselves  may 
be  able  to  interpret  for  the  improvement  of  our  daily  speech. 
The  first  three  named, — inflection,  modulation,  pitch, — 
have  to  do  with  the  quality  and  tone  of  voice,  something 
that  nature  will  attend  to  for  us  if  we  observe  those  laws 
of  breathing  to  which  attention  has  been  called ;  rate  refers 
to  the  speed  of  our  speaking,  and  it  is  sufficient  to  say  of 
this  that  we  should  not  talk  extremely  rapidly  or  extremely 
slowly,  but  should  strike  upon  that  rate  of  expression  which 
will  not  interfere  with  our  being  understood,  nor  yet  make 
us  appear  unnatural ;  force  and  emphasis  refer  more  particu- 
larly to  the  quantity  of  voice  placed  upon  any  portion  or 
portions  of  our  speech,  the  accentuating  what  we  have  to 
say  by  means  of  loudness  or  intensity  or  variation  in  the 
rate  of  the  voice.  For  the  explanation  of  all  of  these  we 
should  turn  to  a  good  book  on  elocution.  They  are  all  of 
prime  importance  to  us  in  the  more  advanced  study  of  pub- 
lic speaking,  but  they  need  not  be  defined  further  than  they 


THE    ORAL    COMPOSITION  213 

are  above  for  our  purpose  here.  Pause,  phrasing,  and  sub- 
ordination, however,  which  have  to  do  with  the  manage- 
ment of  the  voice  in  its  closer  relation  to  subject-matter 
and  are  of  every-day  value  to  us,  are  worthy  of  a  some- 
what closer  consideration  in  this  connection. 

Pause  in  speaking,  either  before  or  after  we  have  made 
an  important  point,  is  a  method  of  accentuating  or  empha- 
sizing that  point.  We  have  sometimes  heard  an  eloquent 
pause  or  an  eloquent  silence.  It  was  the  result  of  this  de- 
liberate act  of  emphasis  on  the  part  of  the  speaker.  In  ad- 
dition to  this,  pauses  of  varying  lengths  in  our  speech  take 
the  place  somewhat  of  punctuation  in  our  writing.  We  can 
usually  tell  where  periods,  semicolons,  commas,  etc.,  should 
be  placed  in  the  language  of  a  good  speaker.  So  surely, 
yet  so  unconsciously,  does  he  pause  here  and  there  through- 
out his  discourse,  that  we  have  no  more  doubt  where  his 
sentences  end  and  where  his  thoughts  are  divided  than  we 
have  about  the  declarative  or  the  interrogative  form  of  his 
expression.  Just  as  we  place  a  period,  a  question  mark,  a 
comma,  almost  unconsciously  where  they  respectively  be- 
long in  our  written  composition,  so  we  should  indicate 
these  same  divisions  in  our  speech  by  carefully  graduated 
but  natural  pauses.  Pause,  then,  is  valuable  for  us  in 
speaking,  because  it  is  a  means  of  emphasis  and  accent,  and 
because  it  indicates  the  division  of  ideas  from  one  an- 
other. 

Phrasing  is  closely  allied  to  pause  in  the  matter  of 
speaking.  It  means  the  grouping  together  of  words  into 
phrases  and  clauses  by  means  of  the  voice,  the  partitioning 
of  our  oral  expression  into  its  grammatical  compartments. 
Rather  than  talk  straight  ahead  in  an  even,  monotonous 
voice,  placing  all  our  phrases  and  clauses  end  to  end,  as  it 
were,  as  if  they  were  continuous  with  one  another,  we  should 


214  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

indicate  a  grouping  together  of  all  our  subject,  all  our 
predicate,  and  all  of  our  related  modifiers. 

I  "When  John  came  home  from  school  |  he  said,  |  *I  think 
I'll  go  skating';  |  but  his  mother  reminded  him  |  that  he  had 
chores  to  do."| 

Here,  the  perpendicular  lines  indicate  the  natural  partitions 
of  the  thought.  Instead  of  reading  this  sentence  in  one 
long  monotonous  strain  then,  we  will  read  it  in  sections,  or 
phrase  it  as  indicated,  and  thus  convey  our  meaning  much 
more  easily  and  intelligibly.  And,  what  is  equally  impor- 
tant, the  observance  of  the  principles  of  pause  and  phrasing 
in  our  speaking  will  give  us  the  opportunity  for  the  con- 
trol and  management  of  our  breathing. 

Subordination  is  in  turn  closely  allied  to  phrasing. 
By  it  we  mean  that  we  must  show  by  the  voice  which  ideas 
in  our  expression  are  subordinate  to  others.  We  should  not 
in  reading  a  complex  sentence,  for  instance,  give  the  depend- 
ent idea  as  much  stress  as  the  independent  one ;  we  should 
likewise  indicate  by  means  of  the  voice  whatever  paren- 
thetical expressions  we  make  use  of;  and  we  should  keep 
modifiers  in  a  place  subordinate  to  the  words  they  modify 
by  the  subtle  and  skillful  management  of  the  voice.  We 
have  all  heard  such  things  as  these  done  with  the  voice  by 
able  speakers,  and  we  ourselves  do  them  very  expertly  when 
we  are  talking  to  a  group  of  friends  about  something  in 
which  our  interest  in  the  account  we  are  giving  so  holds 
us  that  we  cannot  be  anything  else  but  natural.  Our  con- 
centration has  helped  us.  Subordination  is  quite  as  neces- 
sary an  element  in  oral  expression  as  it  is  in  written,  and 
we  can  easily  indicate  it,  not  by  means  of  graphic  outline, 
of  course,  but  by  carefully  relating  our  ideas  to  one  an- 
other in  our  minds  before  giving  expression  to  them. 


THE    ORAL   COMPOSITION  215 

In  conclusion,  then,  let  us  try,  as  best  we  can,  to  im- 
prove our  speech  under  whatever  circumstances  we  are 
called  upon  to  use  it,  by  means  of  closely  observing  the 
suggestions  made  in  this  chapter.  Training  in  vocal  ex- 
pression along  even  these  elementary  lines  will,  if  faithfully 
practiced,  enable  us 

(i)  to  stand  in  good  position  before  a  class  and  tell  in  well- 
pronounced,  grammatical  English  exactly  what  we  have  seen, 
heard,  or  experienced; 

(2)  to  explain,  describe  or  argue  clearly,  forcibly  and  grace- 
fully; 

(3)  to  converse  freely  and  fluently; 

(4)  to  identify  ourselves  with  some  great  character  in  lit- 
erature, and  to  relive  in  thought,  feeling  and  expression  that 
character's  experience ; 

(5)  to  develop  impromptu  power; 

(6)  to  meet  a  "speaking  emergency"  with  readiness  and  ease; 

(7)  to  think  analytically  before  an  audience ; 

(8)  to  interpret  a  piece  of  literature  to  others  with  spiritual 
and  intellectual  discernment; 

(9)  to  persuade  others  to  our  view; 

(10)  to  approach  an  employer  or  an  employee  of  a  firm  with 
terse,  well-delivered  English ; 

(11)  "to  talk"  a  letter  and  to  perform  other  secretarial  duties 
efficiently ; 

(12)  to  state  an  opinion,  with  reasons,  unhesitatingly,  logically 
and  pointedly; 

(13)  to  coordinate  voice,  mind,  and  body  in  such  a  way  as  to 
give  us  address  and  personality  for  any  situation  in  which  we  may 
happen  to  be  placed. 


2i6  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 


EXERCISE 

I.     Make  a  speech  before  the  class  reviewing  the 
contents  of  this  chapter. 

II.  Explain  to  your  classmates  how  to  do  something 
— build  a  boat,  take  a  picture,  make  a  tackle,  etc. — that  you 
are  interested  in.  When  you  are  through,  invite  them  to 
ask  questions. 

III.  Tell  the  story  of  some  hero  you  have  been  read- 
ing of  in  literature. 

IV.  Give  an  account  to  your  classmates  of  some  re- 
cent happening  you  read  about  in  the  newspaper  this  morn- 
ing. 

V.  Describe  some  beautiful  or  wonderful  sight  you 
have  seen.     Invite  questions  when  you  are  through. 

VI.  Argue  the  following  question  before  the  class, — 
Resolved:  That  the  study  of  oral  expression  is  more  im- 
portant than  the  study  of  written  expression. 

VII.     Give  an  account  to  your  classmates  of  an  excit- 
ing game  you  have  recently  seen. 

VIII.     Imagine  yourself  just  elected  to  the  presidency 
of  a  club.     Make  a  short  speech  of  appreciative  acceptance. 
IX.     Make  a  short  speech  that  would  be  appropriate 
on  your  retirement  from  the  presidency  of  a  club. 

X.  Explain  an  algebraic  or  other  problem  at  the 
board. 

XI.  Answer  extemporaneously  the  following  ques- 
tion (and  others  that  your  teacher  will  assign)  : — 

Why  did   the  original  thirteen   colonies   rebel   against 
England  ? 

XII.     Enumerate  in  a  note-book,  kept  for  the  purpose, 
all  the  errors  in  oral  expression  that  you  yourself  have 


THE   ORAL   COMPOSITION  217 

made,  or  that  you  have  heard  to-day.  Correct  them  and 
study  the  correct  form.  Such  a  note-book  or  '^English 
diary''  should  be  in  constant  use. 

XIII.  Deliver  brief  speeches  on : — 

How  to   Write  a  Composition, 

The  Kinds  of  Extemporaneous  Speaking, 

The  Value  of  Conversation, 

The  Different  Kinds  of  Plans, 

Point  of  View  and  Purpose. 

XIV.  Organize  the  class  into  an  "extempore  club''  for 
an  open  meeting.  Imagine  an  absent  member  to  be  ac- 
cused of  theft.  Let  every  member  argue  for  or  against 
the  accused.  (Speeches  should  be  limited  to  five  minutes 
each. ) 

XV.  Imagine  yourself  an  agent  for  some  book  or 
other  article  with  which  you  are  familiar.  Talk  to  your 
classmates  about  it,  trying  to  persuade  them  to  buy  it.  Per- 
mit them  to  ask  questions. 

XVI.  Make  a  speech  before  the  class,  sketching  one 
of  the  following  characters : — 

Shylock — Portia — Ivanhoe — The     Ancient     Mariner — Sir 
Launfal — David  Balfour. 

XVII.  Take  some  composition  you  have  written,  in- 
dicate by  pencil  marks  pauses,  phrasing,  and  subordination, 
and  then  read  it  to  the  class  accordingly. 

XVIII.  Let  some  ''captain"  or  leader  select  a  topic  for 
discussion,  divide  it  into  sections,  and  assign  these  sections 
to  separate  members  of  the  class.  After  each  one  has  made 
a  speech  on  his  particular  section,  indulge  in  general  con- 
versation about  the  topic  by  means  of  question,  answer,  and 
criticism. 


2i8  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

XIX.  Make  an  oral  criticism  of  one  or  more  of  the 
speeches  given  before  the  class.  Criticise  from  the  points 
of  view  of  subject-matter,  position,  voice,  gesture,  plan, 
pronunciation,  grammar,  pause,  phrasing,  subordination. 

XX.     Tell  a  short  joke  v^hich  necessitates  the  imper- 
sonation of  one  or  more  characters. 


CHAPTER   XI 
THE  KINDS  OF  COMPOSITION 

Broadly  speaking,  there  are  four  kinds  of  composi- 
tion,— Exposition,  Narration,  Description,  and  Argument. 
Write  them  in  almost  any  sequence  and  the  initial  letters 
will  form  a  memory  word.  As  we  have  arranged  them  here 
that  word  is  *'Enda".  This  seems  to  be  the  best  arrange- 
ment we  can  make,  because  it  represents  the  order  in  either 
written  or  oral  composition  in  which  they  are  naturally 
developed.  A  child  calls  first  for  explanation  or  exposition 
of  the  things  it  sees  about  it.  We  know  what  curious,  and 
sometimes  bothersome,  questioners  children  are.  It  is  be- 
cause of  this  belief  in  the  fact  that  exposition  is  demanded 
first,  and  therefore  is  the  earliest  form  to  be  naturally  de- 
veloped, that  we  have  placed  expository  plans  first  in  this 
book.  When  the  child  gets  a  little  older,  it  wants  to  hear 
stories  or  narrations  about  the  things  already  explained. 
Its  ability  to  appreciate  a  picture  or  description  of  these 
things  will  develop,  as  a  rule,  only  after  it  has  understood 
them  or  heard  stories  about  them ;  though  here  our  sequence 
is  most  imperiled,  for  we  know  the  picture  to  be  of  great 
advantage,  if  used  in  connection  with  the  exposition  and 
the  narration,  for  purposes  of  elucidation.  Indeed,  there 
are  many  cases  in  which  it  might  very  fittingly  come  first. 
The  child,  for  instance,  sees  things  before  it  asks  to  have 
them  explained.  But  its  mental  picture  of  them  is  obscure 
or  it  would  probably  not  ask  so  many  questions.     We  are 

219 


220  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

thinking  of  word-pictures,  however,  since  we  are  deahng 
with  composition,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  but  that  the 
abihty  for  writing,  as  well  as  that  for  reading  description, 
is  much  more  difficult  and  therefore  of  later  development 
than  that  for  exposition,  narration,  or  argument.  The 
power  to  argue  is  naturally  developed  last,  calling  as  it  does 
for  maturer  insight  than  does  any  of  the  other  three.  But 
we  shall  find  these  types  arranged  differently  in  different 
books;  some,  maintaining  that  narration  is  developed  first, 
or  is  the  easiest  to  write,  will  arrange  them  neda;  some, 
believing  that  description  should  stand  first  because  of  the 
concreteness  of  pictures,  arrange  them  dean.  We  be- 
lieve, however,  for  the  reasons  just  stated,  that  our  arrange- 
ment is  the  most  logical  one.  But  we  must  hasten  to  add 
here  that,  just  as  we  shall  see  a  little  later,  no  one  of  these 
four  types  ever  stands  alone,  but  two  or  more  are  always 
intermingled  one  with  another,  so  also  all  four  of  them  de- 
velop more  or  less  simultaneously  in  the  child.  The  an- 
swers to  its  early  questions  may  be  both  narration  and 
description.  Precedence  is  given  to  exposition  only  because 
it  is  believed  to  be  the  most  predominant  in  early  childhood 
and  because  it  is  the  least  difficult  therefore  for  the  young 
to  study  first. 

We  have  shown  the  meanings  of  these  four  words  in 
sketching  their  development  thus  briefly.  To  summarize, 
we  may  say  that 

Exposition  means  explanation ; 

Narration  means  the  telling  of  a  story,  or  the  setting 
forth  of  a  series  of  related  actions  or  happenings; 

Description  means  giving  a  word  picture  of  a  scene,  a 
person,  an  object,  or  an  event; 

Argument  means  the  debating  of  any  given  question 
from  various  points  of  view. 


THE   KINDS    OF   COMPOSITION  221 

Now  we  must  accent  a  little  more  emphatically  what  we 
have  just  said  about  the  relations  among  these  four  forms 
of  composition.  What  was  said  about  description  above 
applies  with  equal  force  to  all  the  other  kinds.  Rarely  does 
a  single  one  of  them  stand  alone.  Two  or  more  of  them 
are  always  found  blended,  however  slightly,  the  piece  of 
work  taking  its  name  from  that  type  that  predominates. 
Thus,  a  novel  like  Ivanhoe  or  Treasure  Island  is  called  a 
story  or  a  narration  because  most  of  it  is  concerned  with 
the  telling  of  a  series  of  events  in  the  development  of  one 
big  event.  But  it  contains  much  excellent  description  as 
well,  many  necessary  descriptions,  and  even  perhaps  some 
argument.  Likewise,  in  explaining  how  lead  pencils  are 
made,  a  writer  might  throw  the  whole  exposition  into  nar- 
rative form  by  entitling  his  work  ''The  Story  of  a  Piece  of 
Lead'',  and  thus  explain  the  manufacture  of  lead  pencils  in 
a  vastly  more  interesting  way  in  the  narrative  form  than 
he  could  were  he  to  set  to  work  to  write  a  cold,  dry-as-dust 
exposition.  But  his  composition  would  contain  exposition 
and  description  as  well  and,  again,  perhaps  argument  also. 
It  is  quite  possible  that  the  picture  of  a  great  battle  or  of 
some  great  allegorical  figure  will  be  wonderfully  helped  for 
us,  if  it  is  accompanied  with  an  explanation  of  its  meaning, 
or  with  a  narration  of  the  event  it  represents.  Again,  a 
lawyer,  in  order  to  bring  all  possible  power  to  bear  upon  his 
side  of  a  case,  may  have  to  employ  all  four  of  these  kinds 
of  composition.  If  his  client  be  suing  a  railroad  for  dam- 
ages, he  may  have  to  explain  exactly  how  an  accident  hap- 
pened ;  he  may  tell  the  story  dramatically ;  he  may  describe 
his  client  as  a  man  of  powerful  physique  before  the  unfor- 
tunate occurrence  and  as  a  pitiable  cripple  for  life  after- 
ward; and  all  of  these  he  may  combine  into  such  a  subtle 
and  able  argument  as  to  win  his  case. 


222  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

It  will  be  pointed  out  later — though  it  has  of  course 
already  been  understood — ^that  expository,  descriptive,  or 
argumentative  points  must  be  placed  as  subordinate  topics 
in  a  plan  that  is  distinctively  narrative ;  that  narrative,  de- 
scriptive, or  argumentative  points  must  be  placed  as  subor- 
dinate topics  in  a  plan  that  is  distinctively  expository;  etc. 
This  is  a  matter  of  much  importance  to  w^riters  of  long 
works  in  any  one  of  these  types.  But  it  is  equally  impor- 
tant for  us  also  in  our  shorter  experiments  in  composition, 
for  we  shall  have  to  differentiate  among  them  just  as  accu- 
rately in  our  ordinary  ''school  writing"  as  do  authors  in 
their  "world  writing". 

We  see  then  that  all  four  types  may  be,  usually  are, 
blended,  each  to  help  the  other,  and  that  the  type  that  pre- 
dominates in  this  grouping, — ^the  type,  that  is,  that  stands 
out  most  prominently, — is  the  one  from  which  the  composi- 
tion takes  its  name.  It  is  possible,  of  course,  as  we  have 
doubtless  noticed  in  our  study  of  literature,  to  reduce  this 
intermixture  to  a  minimum.  In  many  expositions  that  we 
have  read  we  have  found  almost  nothing  but  pure  exposi- 
tion; in  many  stories  we  have  found  almost  nothing  but 
the  account  of  action.  In  description,  which  can  be  more 
easily  isolated  than  the  other  types,  we  have  found  passages 
or  indeed  whole  compositions  that  consisted  of  pure  word- 
painting  or  word-picturing;  and  in  afgument,  which  is  the 
most  difficult  to  isolate,  we  have  nevertheless  seen  examples 
in  which  every  sentence  dealt  a  death-blow  to  the  opposite 
proposition  by  means  of  pure  argument.  The  four  types 
do  therefore  exist  as  such,  and  we  must  consequently  study 
how  to  prepare  to  write  each  kind  as  an  individual  type, 
as  well  as  how  to  tell  the  one  from  the  other  in  our  reading. 
To  this  end  we  shall  study  expository,  narrative,  descrip- 
tive, and  argumentative  planning  in  the  pages  that  follow. 


THE   KINDS   OF   COMPOSITION  223 

Then,  as  occasion  requires,  we  shall  be  able  to  combine  the 
different  types  to  suit  our  special  purposes. 

We  shall  see  that  many  of  the  various  styles  of  plans 
already  discussed  may  be  applied  to  any  one  of  the  types 
of  composition  just  enumerated.  Particularly  is  this  true 
of  the  outlines  which  are  named  according  to  the  arrange- 
ment of  material, — running,  formal,  and  informal.  But 
we  shall  also  see  that  there  are  certain  forms  of  plan  that 
belong  to  each  separate  kind  of  composition.  It  is  better, 
for  instance,  we  shall  see,  to  use  the  sentence  or  the  parti- 
cipial phrasal  form  for  narration;  the  topical,  phrasal,  or 
clausal  form  for  exposition  and  description;  and  the  com- 
bination for  argument.  This  arrangement  cannot  of  course 
be  made  hard  and  fast,  but  it  will  be  found  to  hold  in  the 
majority  of  cases  which  we  shall  meet  with  in  our  school 
work.  Whatever  variations  occur  will  be  noted  as  we  pro- 
ceed. 

Up  to  this  time  we  have  studied  carefully  the  form  and 
arrangement  of  plans:  subordination  in  plans;  the  various 
kinds  of  plans;  and  purpose  and  point  of  view.  We  shall 
therefore  not  develop  our  illustrative  material  so  far  as  we 
have  done  in  the  preceding  chapters,  for  we  are  now  able 
to  bring  knowledge,  which  we  did  not  possess  before,  to 
bear  upon  our  tasks  in  writing. 


EXERCISE 

I.     Make  a  formal  study  plan  of  this  chapter. 
IL     Select  expository,  narrative,  descriptive,  and  ar- 
gumentative passages   from  some  piece  of  literature  you 
have  read.    Show  what  intermixture  exists  in  each. 

in.     Show  how  more  than  one  of  the  types  of  compo- 


224,  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

sition  here  mentioned  might  be  combined  in  dealing  with 
the  following  titles : — 

The  Old  Mansion, 

Jack's  Discovery, 

Sunday  Baseball  Should   Be  Prohibited, 

The  Parade, 

The  Balloon  Ascension. 

IV.  Make  a  plan  in  which  you  enumerate  all  the  good 
narrations  you  have  read.  Show  by  means  of  your  ar- 
rangement which  of  these  are  most  purely  narrative,  and 
which  least  so. 

V.  Make  a  similar  outline  for  all  the  expositions,  de- 
scriptions, and  arguments  you  can  remember  reading,  and 
classify  them  as  you  classified  the  narrations  in  Exercise 
IV. 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE  EXPOSITORY  PLAN 

Exposition  or  explanation  we  take  to  be  the  com- 
monest type  of  composition  among  the  four.  There  is 
scarcely  a  day  that  we  are  not  called  upon  to  explain  some- 
thing to  somebody,  or  that  we  do  not  call  upon  some  one  to 
explain  something  to  us.  ''How  do  you  do  it?"  ''How  do 
I  get  to  such  and  such  a  place?"  "Why  did  you  do  that?" 
etc.,  are  all  questions  that  we  are  constantly  hearing.  The 
answers  to  them,  however  brief  they  may  be,  are  expository, 
for  they  all  call  for  explanations.  It  is  necessary  that  we 
study  how  to  make  a  clear,  definite,  explicable  answer  to 
questions  when  they  are  asked  us.  If  some  one  meets  us 
on  the  street  and  asks  for  direction  to  some  particular  place, 
he  will  be  helped  just  in  proportion  as  we  are  masters  of 
exposition.  He  may  be  in  greater  confusion  than  before 
making  inquiry  if  our  explanation  to  him  is  not  concisely 
and  explicitly  expressed.  We  may  know  exactly  where 
he  wants  to  go  and  how  best  he  can  get  there,  but,  as  is 
too  frequently  the  case,  this  knowledge  is  not  matched  with 
an  equal  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  imparting  information 
and  consequently  we  fail  to  help  the  inquirer. 

It  is  best  in  all  cases  of  expository  answers  to  questions 
that  we  at  the  outset  repeat  the  interrogation  in  the  declara- 
tive form: — 

"Why  are  you  doing  this?" 
*'I  am  doing  this  because — " 
225 


226  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

If  we  can  give  evidence  of  quick  organization  of  material 
in  our  answers,  we  shall  be  able  to  make  them  much 
clearer : — 

"Why  are  you  doing  this?" 

"I  am  doing  this,  first,  because — ; 

second,  because — etc." 

Here,  by  the  introduction  of  "first",  "second'',  etc.,  we 
have  divided  our  answer  into  a  sequence  that  is  easily  fol- 
lowed, and  into  a  sequence  that  should  observe  a  regularly 
descending  or  ascending  order  of  importance.  If  Mr.  A. 
wants  to  get  from  the  Strand,  which  he  is  now  on,  to  Al- 
bany Street,  which  is  on  the  other  side  of  the  city,  we  do 
not,  of  course,  in  giving  him  directions,  trace  his  journey 
from  Albany  Street  to  the  Strand,  but  we  start  at  the  point 
where  he  now  is  and  trace  the  whole  journey  regularly  as 
he  will  make  it.  With  a  little  attention  to  our  manner  of 
answering  such  questions  as  these  we  can  form  the  habit  of 
systematizing  the  information  we  have  to  convey  to  such  a 
degree  that,  when  we  come  to  write  expository  composi- 
tions, the  matter  of  planning  will  not  be  so  irksome  or  so 
difficult  to  us.  The  questions  of  parents  and  teachers 
should  not  be  answered  as  briefly  and  as  quickly  as  possible 
(as  we  too  often  do  answer  them)  but  always  with  some 
delibera'tion  and  forethought,  not  only  upon  what  we  are 
going  to  say,  but  on  how  we  are  going  to  say  it  as  well. 

The  relation  between  exposition  and  description  is  much 
closer  than  that  existing  between  any  other  two  types. 
This  has  already  been  intimated  in  the  previous  chapter,  and 
we  should  have  guessed  it  ourselves  had  we  not  been  told. 
It  is  clear  of  course  that  in  writing  a  character  sketch  of 
a  person,  in  explaining  a  person,  that  is,  we  might  enhance 
the  explanation  a  good  deal  by  accompanying  it  with  a  de- 


THE   EXPOSITORY   PLAN  227 

scription  or  picture  of  the  person.  There  may  be,  for  in- 
stance, certain  facial  features  that  are  indicative  of  charac- 
teristics. In  speaking  of  a  man  as  having  a  high  forehead, 
a  square  chin,  a  slender  neck,  we  explain  indirectly  by  these 
bits  of  description  that  he  possesses  certain  characteristics 
which  such  features  indicate.  Perhaps  some  of  us  have 
written  compositions  on  the  margins  of  which  we  drew  il- 
lustrations or  pictures  of  certain  phases  or  parts  of  our  sub- 
ject. Combining  diagrams  thus  with  our  exposition  we 
were  enabled  to  give  a  much  more  lucid  idea  of  the  matter 
we  were  writing  about.  And  such  a  combination  cannot  be 
too  highly  commended.  Whenever  and  wherever  possible, 
in  explaining  a  subject  to  one  who  knows  but  little  about  it, 
we  should  unite  diagrams  or  sketches  with  our  written  or 
oral  explanations.  We  know  how  valuable  the  stereopticon 
is  to  the  lecturer  who  is  trying  to  elucidate  a  subject  to  an 
audience,  and  we  know  too  how  plain  it  makes  things  and 
how  enjoyable  it  makes  a  lecture  that  might  otherwise  bore 
us.  We  know  how  invaluable  an  aid  a  map  of  a  city  can 
be,  particularly  if  we  are  strangers  in  the  city.  We  know 
how  much  Mr.  A.  will  be  helped  if  we  take  the  time  to 
draw  a  little  plan  of  his  journey  from  the  Strand  to  Albany 
Street.  And  we  know  too  that  if  our  teachers  accompany 
their  verbal  explanations  with  illustrative  diagrams  at  the 
board,  we  are  much  better  able  to  understand  them.  We 
may  say,  then,  that  as  a  rule  exposition  may  be  most  advan- 
tageously helped  by  means  of  description,  both  verbal  and 
graphic.  The  use  of  descriptive  adjectives,  the  picturing  of 
certain  parts  of  the  thing  we  happen  to  be  explaining,  will 
in  most  cases  double  the  value  of  our  exposition,  because  it 
will  double  the  lucidity.  No  such  interdependence  exists 
between  any  two  other  types. 

The  commonest  form  of  exposition,  which,  for  the  sake 


228  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

of  convenience,  we  shall  call  Plain  Exposition,  develops  its 
subject  naturally  from  its  beginning  to  its  end.  It  is  the 
style  of  exposition  we  should  use  when  explaining  a  thing 
directly,  for  the  first  information  of  one  who  knows  nothing 
whatever  about  it.  It  is  ''out-and-out"  explanation,  busi- 
ness-like and  always  conscious  of  itself.  There  is  no  ele- 
ment of  entertaining  for  the  purpose  of  merely  interesting, 
that  we  shall  find  in  some  other  styles  of  exposition.  As  a 
rule  our  plan  should  follow  the  general  headings  here  indi- 
cated : — 

I.     Origin  or  source 
II.     Kinds  (Description) 

III.  Methods  or  means  of  procuring  (or  manufacture) 

IV.  Uses 
V.     Effects 

These  represent  what  should  be  the  main  topics  in  our  out- 
line. The  subordinate  topics  should  now  be  placed  under- 
neath and  to  the  right  of  these.  Or  we  may,  if  we  choose, 
omit  these  words  from  our  plan  altogether,  and  in  their 
stead  state  directly  the  facts  that  they  stand  for.  If  our 
title  be  "Coal",  then  we  may  say,  instead  of  IV  (Uses), 
what  uses  coal  actually  has.  It  is  however  a  little  better 
to  retain  these  headings,  or  as  many  of  them  as  we  can 
use  in  connection  with  any  given  subject,  for  they  enable 
our  reader  to  follow  the  course  of  the  development  a  good 
deal  more  easily.  There  are  subjects  of  course  to  the  treat- 
ment of  which  all  of  these  topics  cannot  be  applied,  yet  in 
explaining  most  subjects  the  majority  of  them  will  be 
needed.  Indeed,  one  can  hardly  imagine  a  subject  for  an 
expository  composition  to  which  at  least  four  out  of  the 
five  major  topics  are  not  applicable. 

Let  us  be  careful  to  notice  that  the  plan  suggested  is 


THE    EXPOSITORY    PLAN  229 

topical.  As  a  rule  the  expository  plan  is  topical,  phrasal, 
or  clausal.  This  is  true  because  we  must  aim  always  to 
keep  our  points  dependent  upon  our  title  and  this  depend- 
ence is  always  suggested  by  a  topic,  a  phrase,  and  a  clause, 
all  being  dependent  members.  The  thing  that  we  are  ex- 
plaining is  thus  kept  always  before  the  reader's  mind,  every 
topic  having  something  to  which  it  must  belong.  We  have 
seen  that  such  is  not  the  case  where  we  have  a  series  of 
independent  sentences  as  our  major  points.  A  sentence  is 
a  complete  statement  wherever  it  stands. 

Under  topic  II  (Kinds)  we  have  placed  the  word 
^'Description"  in  parenthesis.  This  indicates  that  most  of 
what  we  have  to  say  here  may  be  descriptive  in  its  nature. 
We  have  seen  that  in  writing  exposition  we  should  be  care- 
ful to  subordinate  as  far  as  possible  all  elements  that  are  not 
strictly  expository.  And  we  know  also  that  this  same  rule 
is  to  be  observed  in  writing  narration,  description,  and  ar- 
gument. Our  major  topics  should  always  have  in  them  a 
clear  suggestion  of  the  kind  of  composition  we  are  writing. 
So  also  should  our  subordinate  topics,  wherever  possible. 
Every  one  of  the  five  main  divisions  above  named  suggests 
explanation.  They  do  not  suggest  a  story,  or  a  picture, 
or  an  argument.  When  therefore  we  deal  with  II,  which 
suggests,  in  addition  to  explanation,  something  of  descrip- 
tion, we  should,  if  our  subject  be  "Coal",  develop  it  some- 
what as  follows : — 

II,  Kinds 

I.  Anthracite 

a.  Hard 

b.  Crystal-like 

^.  Bituminous 

a.  Soft 

b.  Powder-like 


230  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

Or,  if  our  subject  be  "Footbair' : — 

II.  Kinds 

1.  Rugby 

a.  The  field 

b.  The  suit 

c.  The  play 

2.  Association  ("Soccer") 

a.  The  field 

b.  The  suit 

c.  The  play 

Here  we  have  subordinated  to  the  second  degree  those 
topics, — "hard",  "field",  etc., — which  are  distinctively  de- 
scriptive, an  arrangement  that  we  should  usually  follow. 

But  it  might  often  prove  more  interesting  and  enter- 
taining were  we  to  invert  our  plan  for  Plain  Exposition. 
Thus,  again,  if  we  are  to  write  about  "coal^"^  we  may 
very  well  start  our  composition  by  telling  how  comfortable 
we  are,  sitting  before  the  open  fireplace.  We  may  then 
enumerate  some  other  effects  of  coal,  and  thus  lead  natur- 
ally into  its  various  uses.  From  this  point  we  can  explaih 
how  it  is  procured  (or  if  our  subject  be  "silk"''^  or  "pa- 
per", or  "jam",  or  "tennis  racket",  how  it  is  manufac- 
tured), how  many  kinds  there  are  and  where  it  comes  from. 
We  have  thus  traced  our  subject  "coal""  from  its  last  place, 
our  hearth,  back  to  its  first  place,  the  mine ;  and  our  outline 
has  been  reversed  completely ;  as : — 

I.  Effects 

II.  Uses 

III.  How  procured 

IV.  Kinds 
V.  Source 

This  would  give  us  an  Inverted  Exposition,  a  type  that  is 
just  as  easily  written  as  Plain  Exposition  and  one  that  has 


THE   EXPOSITORY   PLAN  231 

the  advantage  of  "catching  the  interest"  at  the  outset.  It 
is  often  used  by  speakers  and  writers  when  they  find  them- 
selves confronted  with  a  difficult  audience,  or  when  they 
wish  to  treat  a  subject  popularly.  Children  are  often  given 
most  valuable  information  by  centering  their  attention  upon 
some  most  obvious  thing  near  them  and  then  working 
back  from  it  to  its  various  more  remote  characteristics. 
We  have  sometimes  perhaps  heard  it  called,  "Proceeding 
from  the  known  to  the  unknown". 

Another  type  of  expository  development  is  Narrative 
Exposition;  that  is,  explaining  a  subject  by  way  of  telling 
the  story  of  its  existence.  Sometimes  this  is  thrown  into 
the  first  personal  form,  in  which  case  it  is  called  Autobio- 
graphic Exposition.     Such  subjects  as: — 

The  Story  of  a  Piece  of  Coal, 
The  Story  of  a  Piece  of  Silk, 
The  Story  of  a  Base-ball, 


When  I  Was  a  Piece  of  Coal, 
My  Experiences  as  a  Piece  of  Silk, 
My  Career  as  a  Base-ball, 

all  suggest  a  story,  but  a  story  that  is  going  to  be  explana- 
tory in  its  nature.  In  writing  such  an  exposition  we  should 
be  careful  to  make  the  events  of  the  story  or  of  our  experi- 
ences as  something,  typical  events  and  experiences.  We 
must  not  take  the  unusual  happenings  connected  with  any- 
thing we  are  explaining,  if  we  are  bent  upon  giving  to  our 
readers  a  good  general  understanding  of  the  subject.  ''My 
Experiences — ",  *'My  Career — ",  as  a  diamond,  must  be 
the  experience,  the  career  of  the  average  diamond,  other- 
wise it  will  lose  its  value  as  an  informing  piece  of  exposi- 
tion. 


212  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

• 

The  planning  of  a  narrative  exposition  will  be  treated 
in  the  next  chapter  as  well  as  here,  because  it  may  be  either 
narrative  exposition  or  expository  narrative, — the  one  aim- 
ing primarily  at  explaining,  the  other  at  entertaining. 
Treated  as  narrative  exposition  our  subject  should  be 
planned  according  to  the  forms  above  explained.  *'When 
I  Was  a  Piece  of  Coal",  might  then  be  arranged  as  fol- 
lows : — 

I.     My  Home 
I. 
2. 

11.     My  Family 
I. 
2. 

3- 

III.  My  Journeys  and  Changes 

I. 
2. 

IV.  My  Uses  in  Life 

I. 
2. 

V.     My  Effect  upon  Men  and  Things 
I. 
2. 

3. 

or 

I.     My  Effect  upon  the  Room  and  Its  Inmates 
I. 

2. 

II.     My  Other  Uses  in  Life 
I. 
2. 


THE    EXPOSITORY    PLAN  233 

III.  My  Various  Journeyings 

I. 
2. 
3. 

IV.  My  Family 

I. 
2. 

3- 

V.     My  Old  Home 

I. 

In  either  or  both  of  these  plans  our  purpose  is  to  ex- 
plain the  subject,  but  to  explain  it  more  entertainingly  per- 
haps than  we  could  have  done  by  either  of  our  former  meth- 
ods. The  same  rules  of  subordination,  for  which  spaces 
are  left,  apply  here  as  in  other  cases. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  we  are  called  upon  to  explain 
a  subject,  the  very  name  of  which  suggests  a  variety  of 
kinds  or  classes.  Such  titles,  for  instance,  as  ^Tables", 
''Schools",  ''Underground  Railways'',  ''Conveyances",  etc., 
are  so  markedly  generic  that  the  very  mention  of  any  one 
of  them  suggests  its  specific  equivalents.  This  was  not  nearly 
so  largely  true  of  "Coal",  "Baseball",  "Silk".  When  there- 
fore we  are  confronted  with  such  easily  divisible  subjects, 
it  is  well  to  start  our  exposition  with  an  explicit  enumera- 
tion and  differentiation  of  these  various  kinds,  and  then 
proceed  to  the  explanation  of  one  or  of  all  of  them, — if 
there  are  not  too  many  divisions.  Such  a  procedure  means 
simply  the  changing  of  the  sequence  of  I  and  II  in  our  plan 
for  Plain  Exposition,  thus :- — 

I.     Kinds 

11.     Origin  or  source  (of  each  or  of  one) 

HI.     How  procured 
etc. 


234  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

But  the  plan  for  Inverted  Exposition  cannot  be  so  easily 
applied  to  the  composition  where  we  are  dealing  with  ''many 
in  one".  It  is  possible  of  course  to  tell  how  different  roses 
affect  one ;  then  to  tell  something  of  their  uses ;  then  to  ex- 
plain how  they  are  grown  and  where  they  come  from.  It 
calls,  however,  for  a  good  deal  more  care  to  prevent  con- 
fusion if  this  method  be  followed  with  such  a  subject  as 
''Roses'',  for  instance.  The  autobiographic  or  narrative  ex- 
pository plan  can  also  be  followed,  if  caution  be  taken  not 
to  individualize  overmuch.  The  tendency  with  a  very  gen- 
eric subject  always  is  (if  we  use  the  narrative  method)  to 
forget  all  the  kinds  but  the  one  we  are  representing  by  the 
first  person. 

WHEN  I  WAS  A  ROSE 

I.     My  Home 
I. 

2. 

II.     My  Sisters  and  Brothers 
I. 

2. 

3- 

4. 

III.  How  We  Were  Nurtured 

I. 
2. 
3. 

IV.  Our  Various  Uses 

I. 

2. 

V.    Our  Different  Effects 
I. 

2. 

3- 


THE   EXPOSITORY   PLAN  235 

Such  exposition,  in  which  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  enu- 
merate many  different  phases  or  kinds  of  our  subject,  is 
called  Enumerative  Exposition.  The  easiest,  most  lucid 
plan  to  follow  will  always  be  that  where  we  name  the  kinds 
first  (as  suggested  on  page  233),  but  it  will  at  the  same 
time  also  be  the  most  mechanical.  To  make  the  numera- 
tion, the  mere  tabulation,  less  obvious,  we  may  make  use 
of  either  the  inverted  type  of  plan  or  of  the  narrative,  pro- 
vided that  we  exercise  more  than  ordinary  care  to  prevent 
confusion  in  doing  so. 

Now,  the  plans  that  we  have  thus  far  studied  in  this 
chapter  answer,  we  may  think,  for  only  certain  types  or 
kinds  of  expository  subjects.  They  will  do  very  satisfac- 
torily for  telling  exactly  what  a  thing  is:  for  explaining 
in  a  general  way  all  about  such  subjects  as  those  named. 
But  suppose  we  want  to  tell  how  a  thing  is  made,  or  how 
it  works.  This  word  how  is  the  root-word  in  matters 
pertaining  to  exposition,  and  we  cannot  under  any  circum- 
stances ignore  it  if  we  would  equip  ourselves  for  writing 
some  of  the  most  obvious  exposition.  However,  with 
a  little  adjustment,  the  plans  already  discussed,  we  shall  see, 
will  be  quite  sufficient  to  meet  this  '*How  need".  In  order 
to  tell  how  a  thing  is  made  we  need  only  to  dwell  at  much 
greater  length  upon  point  III — how  manufactured — of 
our  plan  for  Plain  Exposition.  Indeed  we  may  ignore  all 
the  other  points,  if  our  aim  be  simply  to  explain  how  a 
thing  is  made,  and  elaborate  this  one  alone.  Perhaps  our 
mothers  or  sisters  are.  the  most  expert  in  this  form  of  ex- 
position, for  their  recipes  for  cake  and  other  eatables  are 
masterpieces  in  it.  Otherwise  we  should  not  eat  their  deli- 
cacies with  so  great  a  relish.  If  we  take  one  of  their  re- 
cipes and  make  a  deductive  outline  of  it,  we  shall  get  some- 
thing like  the  following  for  our  major  topics : — 


236  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

I.     Ingredients  (or  materials  or  parts) 
11.     Mixture  (how  made,  combination  or  adjustment) 
III.     Result  (the  product,  description  of) 

Of  course  II  will  be  much  more  highly  subordinated  than 
the  others,  for  here  the  bulk  of  material  will  have  to 
be  placed.  Point  I  will  call  for  enumeration,  and  point 
III  for  a  good  deal  of  description.  These  three  points 
represent,  however,  the  general  lines  along  which  we  shall 
find  it  helpful  to  proceed  when  we  are  asked  to  explain  for 
the  first  time  how  a  thing  is  made.  After  we  have  gained 
some  experience  in  this  method,  we  may  then  take  the  lib- 
erty of  inverting  our  plan  as  we  did  that  for  plain  exposi- 
tion earlier  in  the  chapter.  We  may  proceed  from  the 
known  to  the  unknown  and  thus  write  a  more  interesting 
and  more  entertaining  exposition  than  we  otherwise  could. 
Thus,  in  treating  the  subject,  ''How  to  Make  a  Kite'',  we 
may  outline  our  work  as  above,  changing  the  terms  slightly, 
perhaps ;  or  we  may  do  it  by  starting  with  the  complete  kite 
that  has  fallen  at  our  feet,  telling  what  it  looks  like  and  then 
taking  it  apart,  observing,  as  we  do  so,  how  and  of  what 
materials  it  is  made.  This,  we  see,  would  exactly  reverse 
the  process : 

I.     The  Product 
II.     Manufacture  (how  made) 
III.     Materials 

We  might  even  write  an  exposition  on 
"How  to  Make  a  Kite" 

in  the  narrative  form.  We  should  change  the  title  a  little 
in  such  a  case,  using  perhaps  something  like  this : 

"How  I  Became  a  Kite" 


THE   EXPOSITORY    PLAN  237 

and  taking  for  our  major  topics  the  following, 

I.    My  Parts 
11.     My  Birth 
III.    My  "Kite-hood" 

Or,  as  in  the  former  case,  the  topics  might  be  reversed. 
One  of  the  general  schemes,  however,  as  here  suggested, 
should  be  closely  followed  in  order  that  we  may  have  a 
consistent  and  regular  development.  If  we  are  dealing 
with  the  abstract  subject  ''Kites",  we  must  of  course  use 
the  plan  for  enumerative  exposition. 

In  explaining  how  a  thing  works,  it  is  necessary  for  us 
to  elaborate  point  IV  (Uses)  of  our  original  expository 
outline  and  probably  omit  the  other  points.  Naturally,  to 
tell  how  a  thing  is  used  may  not  always  mean  to  tell  how 
it  works,  but  to  tell  how  it  works  invariably  implies  that 
we  tell  how  it  is  used.  The  latter  will  necessarily  go  into 
much  fuller  detail  than  the  former.  In  telling  for  instance 
what  the  uses  of  electricity  are,  we  would  enumerate  first 
the  actual  uses,  as,  light,  heat,  locomotion,  massage,  etc. 
But  to  tell  how  it  works  in  each  individual  case  would  mean 
a  much  wider  elaboration  of  the  topic.  Therefore,  in  tell- 
ing how  a  thing  works,  as  in  telling  how  a  thing  is  made, 
it  is  best  that  we  should  omit  all  the  points  but  IV  in 
the  first  case,  and  III  in  the  second;  otherwise,  if 
we  elaborate  these  points  to  the  extent  to  which  they 
should  be  elaborated,  and  treat  the  other  points  as  well, 
we  shall  find  our  composition  growing  far  too  long,  and 
perhaps  unmanageable.  Now,  suppose  we  have  some  such 
title  as: 

"How  to  Operate  a  Camera". 


238  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

We  may  here  divide  our  subject  mainly  into  the  natural 
sequence  of  operations;  thus: — 

I  St  Operation: 
2nd  Operation : 
3rd     Operation:  etc. 

or,  we  may  use  a  more  generally  applicable  form ;  such  as : 

I.     Preparation 
II.     Operation 
III.     Discontinuance  (or  completion) 

"How  to  Work  a  Motor",  "How  to  Fly  a  Kite",  "How  to 
Run  an  Automobile",  and  any  number  of  other  such  titles 
coming  under  the  general  title  of  how  a  thing  works,  can 
be  developed  along  any  of  these  three  main  lines.  And, 
here  again,  the  method  may  be  reversed,  or  converted  into 
the  narrative  expository  form,  "How  I  Run",  told,  imagi- 
natively, in  the  first  person  by  a  motor,  or  "How  I  Fly", 
told  in  the  same  way  by  a  kite,  would  probably  have  a 
novel  and  arresting  interest  at  the  very  outset  and  through- 
out the  composition. 

It  has  been  noticed  by  this  time  that  the  divisions  of 
subject-matter  indicated  follow  pretty  closely  the  divisions 
of  the  formal  plan.  The  division  names  of  the  formal  plan 
may  be  used,  if  we  care  to  use  them,  but  they  will  be  found 
appropriate  only  in  the  case  of  Plain  Exposition.  We  may, 
if  we  so  desire,  use  our  very  first  expository  plan  in  the 
formal  mold ;  thus : — 

I.     Introduction 

1.  Origin 

2.  Kinds 


THE   EXPOSITORY   PLAN  239 

II.     Discussion 

1.  Methods 

2.  Uses 

III.     Conclusion 

I.  Effects 

This  however  necessitates  our  using  one  degree  more  of 
subordination  all  along  the  line  of  development,  and  may  as 
a  consequence  burden  our  work  unduly.  In  the  other  types 
of  exposition  however, — Inverted,  Narrative,  and  Enumera- 
tive, — it  will  be  found  better  to  keep  to  the  informal  plan, 
and  to  employ,  wherever  possible,  words  for  our  major 
topics  that  suggest  our  method, — words,  for  instance,  that 
are  more  or  less  peculiar  to  the  subject  in  hand,  rather  than 
the  cut-and-dried  terms  of  the  formal  plan.     To  illustrate : 

LIFE   AS    A    PENNY 

I.  The  Mint 
I. 
2. 
3. 
II.  My  Restless  Life 
I. 
2. 

3- 
4. 

III.  My  Uses  and  Abuses 

I. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 

IV.  My  Good  and  111  Effects 

I. 
2. 


240  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

V.     My  Undoing 
I. 

2. 

We  come  now  to  probably  the  most  important  type  of 
the  expository  plan;  namely,  that  of  the  character  sketch. 
Though  it  will  often,  indeed  usually,  be  enhanced  by  means 
of  description,  we  must  never  forget  that  character  sketch- 
ing is  character  explaining  and  is  therefore  properly 
classed  as  exposition.  The  subordinate  description  or  pic- 
turing of  form  and  feature  will  of  course  often  help  us  to 
an  understanding  of  the  character  of  a  person,  but  character 
itself  is  something  that  cannot  be  seen  in  the  ordinary  sense, 
though  its  manifestations  may  be. 

The  easiest  and  most  common  form  of  plan  for  a  char- 
acter sketch  is  the  one  in  which  the  chief  characteristics  are 
enumerated  at  the  outset^  each  being  taken  up  in  turn  for 
individual  discussion  in  the  order  of  this  enumeration; 
thus : — 

JOHN    BLANK 

Point  of  View — That  of  impartial  acquaintance 
Purpose — To  show  that  he  is  not  a  desirable  companion 

I.     Characteristics 

1.  Selfish 

2.  Untruthful 

3.  Lazy 
II.     Selfishness 

1.  With  his  sisters 

2.  With  his  fellows 

3.  With  his  pets 
III.     Untruthfulness 

1.  To  his  parents 

2.  To  his  teachers 

3.  To  his  fellows 

4.  To  strangers 


THE   EXPOSITORY   PLAN  241 

IV.     Laziness 

1.  At  home 

2.  At  school 

V.     Conclusion 

1.  Few  friends 

2.  Unhappy  life 

3.  My  opinion  of  him 

The  general  method  here  adopted  is  at  once  obvious. 
The  plan  might  be  further  elaborated  by  inserting  subordi- 
nate topics  of  the  second  degree,  stating  concrete  occasions 
upon  which  the  exhibition  of  the  various  characteristics  took 
place.     Thus,  II  might  be  expanded : — 

II.  Selfishness 

1.  With  his  sisters 

a.  At  games 

b.  With  gifts 

2.  With  his  fellows 

a.  In  play 

b.  In  school  work 

c.  In  general  attitude 

3.  With  his  pets 

a.  In  teasing  them 

b.  In  feeding  them 

Such  an  outline  has  the  very  grave  danger,  however,  of 
making  our  composition  too  mechanical  and  artificial,  but 
for  the  beginner  in  character  sketching  it  cannot  be  too 
highly  recommended. 

Sometimes  the  whole  sketch  may  be  deduced  from  a 
careful  description  of  features,  as: — 

I.     John's  appearance 

1.  Erect  stature 

2.  High  forehead 

3.  Clear  eyes 

4.  Straight  nose 

5.  Square  chin 


242  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

II.    Characteristics  deduced 

1.  Intelligence 

2.  Honesty 

3.  Straightforwardness 

4.  Determination 

III.     Intelligence 
I. 
2. 

etc. 

Or,  if  we  desire  to  make  the  matter  of  description  more  of 
an  incident  or  more  subordinate,  we  may  insert  the  descrip- 
tive details  under  each  characteristic  mentioned : — 

1.  Intelligence 

a.  shown  by  high  forehead 

2.  Honesty 

a.  shown  by  clear  eye 
etc. 

We  can  frequently  enliven  our  sketch  and  make  it  vastly 
more  interesting  and  less  monotonously  stereotyped  if,  at 
the  outset,  we  tell  a  little  story  about  our  subject  illustra- 
tive of  his  various  characteristics.  From  this  we  can  less 
obviously  than  in  the  other  form  deduce  the  characteris- 
tics and  comment  upon  them  briefly.  And  it  will  be  possi- 
ble of  course  in  telling  the  story  to  add  brief  descriptive 
touches.     Thus : 

The  grand  old  man  took  his  place  on  the  witness  stand  with 
that  ease  and  composure  of  manner  for  which  he  had  long 
been  admired  by  all  who  were  privileged  to  know  him.  His  long 
white  hair  was  brushed  straight  back,  revealing  his  noble  fore- 
head; and  his  eyes  bespoke  the  daring,  together  with  the  gentle 
confidence,  which  one  always  looks  for  in  a  really  great  man. 

"Mr.  Granville,"  snarled  the  opposing  lawyer,  ''at  what  hour  do 
you  dine?" 

"At  the  Christian  hour,  12  o'clock,  Sir !"  came  the  answer  like 
a  flash. 


THE   EXPOSITORY   PLAN  243 

I.    The  Story 

1.  Attitude 

2.  Appearance 

3.  Question 

4.  Answer 

II.     Characteristics  Displayed 

1.  Freedom 

2.  Frankness 

3.  Fearlessness 

III.  Freedom 

I. 
2. 

IV.  Frankness 

etc. 

There  is  further  the  narrative  character  sketch  (belong- 
ing to  expository  narrative),  all  of  which  deals  with  a  story 
in  which  the  character  to  be  sketched  is  the  central  figure 
or  hero.  This  type,  however,  properly  belongs  to  Narra- 
tion and  we  will  therefore  study  it  in  the  next  chapter. 


EXERCISE 

(Remember  that  an  subjects  should  be  limited  by  Point 
of  View  and  Purpose.) 

I.  Imagine  yourself  being  asked  the  way  to  some 
remote  part  of  the  city  or  town  in  which  you  live.  Write 
down  consecutively  the  directions  you  would  give.  Draw 
a  rough,  marginal  plan  of  the  route. 

II.  Complete  those  plans  in  this  chapter  that  have 
been  left  incomplete.  Add  purpose,  point  of  view,  and  sub- 
ordinate topics  to  each. 

III.     Make  as  many  different  expository  outlines  for 


244  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

each  of  the  following-  as  you  can.     Then  write  the  exposi- 
tion for  three  of  them: 

How  to  Plant  a  Garden  The  Grading  in  our  School 

How  to  Play  Hockey  Bricks 

The  Base-ball   Diamond  Building  a  House 

How  the  Trolley  Car  Runs  My  Duties 

How  to  Make  Stilts  The  Story  of  a  Newspaper 


IV.     Plan  and  write  an  exposition  explaining 

a.  some  problem  in  algebra, 

b.  some  subject  in  biology, 

c.  some  subject  in  economics. 


V.     Plan  and  write  an  exposition  on  each  of  the  fol- 
lowing : 

A  Diamond  A  Lady's  Fan 

A  Dew-drop  A  Piece  of  Chalk 

A  Piece  of  Marble 

VI.     Make  an  informal  expository  study  plan  of  this 
chapter. 

VII.     Plan  and  write  an  enumerative  exposition  on 
each  of  the  following: 

Boots  Vehicles 

Money  Clouds 

Shoes 

VIII.  Plan  and  write  a  character  sketch  of  one  of  your 
classmates.  Use  a  fictitious  name  and  see  if  the  members 
of  your  class  recognize  whom  you  refer  to. 

IX.      Make  plans  for  character  sketches  you  would 


THE    EXPOSITORY    PLAN  245 

write  on  any  of  the  following.     Vary  the  types  of  outline 
used : — 

Rover,  my  Dog  The  Newsdealer 

Prince,  my  Pony  *  The  Milkman 

Mary,  my  Sister  The  Sulky  Conductor 

Jack,  my  Friend  The  Reckless  Driver 

Father  The  Fisherman. 

X.     Select  several  expository  articles  from  the  news- 
paper and  deduce  plans  from  them. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
THE  NARRATIVE  PLAN 

We  have  said  that  narration  is  an  account  of  action, 
of  an  event,  or  of  a  happening.  The  range  or  scope  of 
narration  may  extend  all  the  way  from  the  most  rapid 
kind  of  action,  such  as  the  account  of  an  attack  upon  a  for- 
tress, through  ever  lessening  degrees  to  an  account  of  a 
quiet  stroll  through  the  fields.  Since  we  have  to  do  with 
action  in  writing  narration,  it  is  always  well  for  us  to  indi- 
cate this  action  at  least  in  the  major  topics  of  our  plan  by 
means  of  verbs,  the  really  narrative  parts-  of  speech.  This 
we  can  do  by  using  the  sentence  form  of  plan  or  the  par- 
ticipial phrasal  form;  or,  if  we  choose  to  use  nouns  for  our 
headings,  we  should  see  to  it  that  the  nouns  used  are  such 
as  are  names  of  action ;  nouns,  that  is,  that  connote  action, 
such  as  plunge,  dive,  fight,  groan,  kick,  etc.  These  nouns 
are  not  only  the  names  of  action,  are  not  only  used  as  verbs 
sometimes,  but  they  give  us  a  picture,  however  vague,  of 
the  action  as  soon  as  we  read  them,  and  we  may  for  con- 
venience call  them  ^'narrative  nouns''.  Contrasted  with 
such  nouns  as  water,  tree,  illness,  hand,  they  are  seen  to 
have  a  very  distinct  value  for  our  purposes  in  narration. 

In  slow  narration,  where  we  are  concerned  only  with  the 
most  casual  kind  of  action,  we  may  write  our  major  topics 
in  chronological  order,  without  paying  very  much  attention 
to  the  fact  as  to  whether  one  point  is  more  important  than 
another ;  thus : — 

246 


THE    NARRATIVE   PLAN  247 

I.     I  decided  to  take  a  walk 
I. 
2. 

II.  I  strolled  through  the  fields 

I. 
2. 
3. 

III.  I  studied  the  flowers  and  the  trees 

I. 
2. 
3- 
4. 

IV.  I  meditated  upon  the  wonders  of  nature 

I. 
2. 
3. 
V.  I  arrived  home 
I. 
2. 

Or,  we  may  prefer  to  use  the  other  form : — 

I.  Deciding  to  take  a  walk 
I. 
2. 
■  II.  Strolling  through  the  fields 
I. 
2. 
3- 

III.  Studyhig  the  flowers  and  the  trees 

I. 
2. 
3- 
4. 

IV.  Meditating  upon  the  wonders  of  nature 

I. 
2. 
3- 


248  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

V.     Arriving  home 
I. 

2. 

Here,  nothing  but  the  most  commonplace  happenings  occur 
and  we  have  Slow  Narration.  Such  subjects  as  *'My  Study 
Period'^  ''Going  to  School  This  Morning",  ''How  I  Spent 
Saturday",  etc.,  lend  themselves  to  slow  narration.  How- 
ever, all  of  them,  under  special  circumstances,  may  become 
converted  into  the  most  rapid  kind  of  narration.  If,  in 
taking  our  walk,  we  had  met  a  ferocious  bull  which  gave 
us  a  lively  chase,  our  account  of  the  little  journey  might 
have  been  converted  into  a  hair-raising  episode  indeed.  So 
it  is  with  any  other  subject  for  slow  narration, — our  ac- 
count of  it  may  commence  most  casually,  something  may 
have  happened  to  hasten  it,  and  the  most  rapid  action  may 
be  the  result. 

Suppose,  now,  that  we  want  to  write  a  more  exciting 
story,  such  perhaps  as  the  following  series  of  nouns  might 
indicate, — Boy,  Gun,  Fun,  "Bust!"  Dust!!       or 

1.  Boy, 

2.  Gun, 

3.  Fun,— 

4.  "Bust!" 

5.  Dust!! 

Here  the  events  have  become  more  and  uiore  stimulating 
as  our  little  story  progressed.  Points  i  and  2  created  the 
situation.  The  other  points  built  up  a  series  of  events 
which,  though  starting  calmly  enough,  ended  most  disas- 
trously. There  was  nothing  to  alarm  us  in  describing  the 
boy.  When  he  was  given  a  gun  we  were  perhaps  a  bit 
interested.  When  he  decided  that  fun  must  follow,  we 
probably  sat  erect  in  our  chairs.     When  the  gun  went  off, 


THE   NARRATIVE   PLAN  249 

we  should  have  been  much  excited;  and  possibly  we  wept 
when  we  found  nothing  but  dust  remaining  from  the  little 
episode!  No  matter  whether  we  were  thus  moved  or  not, 
we  have  here  all  the  elements  of  a  Rapid  Narration.  We 
must  notice  in  conclusion  that  points  i  and  2,  being  intro- 
ductory points,  are  not  narrative  nouns,  such  as  we  said 
above  should  be  used  in  depicting  action.  The  nouns  used 
in  points  3,  4,  and  5,  however,  all  have  a  suggestion  of 
action  about  them. 

In  this  story,  as  in  all  more  rapid  narration,  there  are 
two  elements  which  must  be  fixed  in  mind  as  belonging  par- 
ticularly to  narration.  These  are  Suspense  and  Climax. 
It  is  not  sufficient  that  our  rapid  narration  be  composed  of 
action,  but  the  action  must  be  arranged  through  steps  of 
suspense  and  lead  up  to  a  climax.  By  suspense  we  mean 
the  accentuation  of  interest  or  excitement  in  a  story  as  it 
proceeds.  Each  point  that  we  make  in  telling  our  story 
must  have  a  keener  zest  in  it  than  the  one  immediately 
preceding  has.  To  be  kept  expectant,  interested,  excited 
perhaps,  eagerly  anticipating  what  is  to  happen  next  as  a 
result  of  what  has  just  taken  place, — this  is  suspense.  The 
more  of  such  ''holds''  or  "grips''  there  are  upon  our  interest, 
the  more  keenly  shall  we  read  the  narration,  the  more  keenly 
will  our  narrations  be  read.  Moreover,  these  points  of 
suspense  must  develop  one  out  of  the  other  in  a  scale  of  as- 
cending interest, — they  must  form  the  steps  up  which  we 
are  anxious  to  climb  in  order  to  find  what  is  at  the  top  of 
the  stairs,  in  order  to  learn  what  the  outcome  or  resolution 
of  the  story  is.  Each  must  be  the  result  of  the  other,  and 
each  must  "go  the  other  one  better"  in  point  of  interest. 
That  point  which  represents  the  limit  or  highest  plane  of 
interest,  the  greatest  conceivable  point  of  interest,  we  call 
the  Climax.     The  word  "Bust!"  in  our  homely  illustration 


250  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

above  is  the  climax  of  that  story.  At  this  point  in  a  story 
our  suspense  is  usually  exhausted.  Something  must  hap- 
pen to  unravel  or  solve  the  situation  here.  The  point 
(there  may  however  be  more  than  one)  that  follows  quickly 
upon  the  climax  is  called  the  Resolution.  It  is  usually 
more  expository  than  narrative  in  that  it  explains  away 
the  tense  situation  that  has  gone  before  and  brings  us  to 
tHat  delightful  place,  of  which  we  have  so  often  heard, 
where  everybody  decides  to  "^live  happily  (or  otherwise) 
ever  after''. 

Of  course  it  will  be  clear  that  the  matter  of  proportion 
enters  very  largely  into  the  arrangement  of  material  in 
narration,  since  we  must  apportion  certain  sections  to  sus- 
pense, and  certain  others  to  climax  and  resolution.  The 
points  of  suspense  should  demand  our  attention  for  at  least 
one-half  or,  better,  three-fourths  of  a  story,  the  climax  and 
the  resolution  occupying  the  remainder.  The  resolution 
should  be  as  brief  as  possible,  for  no  one  will  be  very 
deeply  interested  in  a  narration  after  all  the  best  happenings 
have  been  recounted.  There  is  very  little  to  read  of  or  to 
*^read  for"  after  the  climax  has  been  reached,  except  per- 
haps the  explanation  of  a  few  vague  details,  or  the  subse- 
quent disposition  of  characters.  Some  stories,  such  as 
many  of  Poe's,  Stockton's,  Gorky's,  Coppee's,  and  a  vast 
number  of  others,  conclude  with  the  climax,  leaving  the 
reader  to  ponder  upon  the  outcome,  though  they  are  left  in 
nowise  unfinished  from  the  point  of  view  of  workmanship. 
This  is  a  particularly  characteristic  method  with  the  French 
story  writers ;  and  it  can  be  used  much  more  safely  in  short 
stories  than  in  longer  ones,  or  in  novels.  However,  Bret 
Harte  in  America  and  Thackeray  in  England  have  taken 
popular  novels  at  their  points  of  resolution  and  have  con- 
structed interesting  and  readable  new  stories  upon  the  con- 


THE   NARRATIVE   PLAN 


251 


elusions  of  the  older  ones.  We  will  illustrate  this  propor- 
tion by  means  of  lines,  and  then  present  a  better  plan  of 
rapid  narration.  The  proportion  of  parts  should,  generally 
speaking,  be  as  follows : — 


Suspense 


or 


Climax 


Resolution 


Suspense 


Climax 


Or,  as  it  is  often  better  represented,  in  order  to  indicate  the 
increasing  interest  a  story  should  have : — 


THE  BOY  WHO  COULDN'T  SWIM 

Point  of  View — That  of  a  comrade  on  the  river  bank 
Purpose — To  show  the  result  of  heedlessness 

I.     Bob  plunges  in 

1.  Advised  to  stay  out 

2.  Laughs  at  advisers 

II.     He  splashes  about  awkwardly 

1.  Doesn't  know  the  stroke 

2.  Keeps  mouth  open 

3.  Struggles  harder  and  harder 


252  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

III.  He  calls  tragically  for  help 

1.  Realizes  his  foolishness 

2.  Cannot  save  himself 

IV.  He  sinks 

1.  Our  efforts  to  locate  him 

2.  Our  dive  for  him 

V.     He  comes  to  surface 

1.  Attempts  to  save  himself 

2.  Calls  feebly 

VI.     He  again  comes  to  surface 
I.  Mute  and  pale 

VII.     He  appears  the  third  time 

1.  Deathly  appearance 

2.  Grabbed  by  rescuer 

VIII.     He  is  pulled  to  shore  with  difficulty 

1.  Drags  rescuer  down 

2.  Both  seem  lost,  but 

3.  Both  are  safe  at  last 

IX.     He  regains  consciousness 

I.  Recognizes  mother,  doctor  and  friends 

Or,  if  we  prefer  the  participial  phrasal  plan,  or  the  plan 
in  which  we  use  narrative  nouns  for  major  topics,  we  may 
proceed  according  to  one  of  these : — 


II. 


III. 


Plunging  in 
I. 
2. 

I. 

The  plunge 
I. 
2. 

Splashing  about  awkward- 

ly 
I. 
2. 

3- 
Calling  for  help 

T 

II. 
III. 

The  splash 

I. 
2. 

3- 
The  call  for  help 

X* 

2. 

2. 

THE   NARRATIVE   PLAN  253 


IV.     Sinking 

IV. 

The  sinking 

I. 

I. 

2. 

2. 

V.     Coming  to  surface 

V. 

The  first  rise 

I. 

I. 

2. 

2. 

VL     Coming  to  surface  a  sec-     VI.     The  second  rise 

ond  time  i. 
I. 

VII.     Appearing  the  third  time  VII.     The  third  appearance 

1.  I. 

2.  2. 

VIII.     Being  pulled  to  shore         VIII.     The  rescue 

1.  I. 

2.  2. 

3.  3. 

IX.     Regaining  consciousness  IX.     The  recovery 

I.  I. 

In  this  illustrative  plan,  whichever  form  we  have,  our 
first  six  points  are  points  of  suspense,  though  I  and  II 
are  so  quiet  as  to  justify  us  perhaps  in  calling  them  intro- 
duction. Each  succeeding  one  represents  Bob's  position  as 
more  perilous  than  its  predecessor.  Point  VII  would 
seem  to  be  quite  the  most  serious  in  Bob's  swimming  ex- 
perience. Our  excitement  is  at  fever  heat  just  here.  In 
VIII  it  begins  to  be  abated  or  resolved,  and  the  com- 
plete resolution  occurs  in  point  IX.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
our  topics,  both  major  and  minor,  are  stated  in  some  form 
by  means  of  which  action  is  indicated.  The  verbs  used  are 
in  very  large  measure  active  action  words;  that  is  to  say, 
each  one  connotes  some  special,  clearly  defined  action.  We 
should  avoid  using  such  verbs  as,  was,  is,  have,  must,  etc., 
in  our  major  topics,  unless  they  are  auxiliary  to  other  verbs 
that  denote  real  action,  for  these  verbs  are  really  not  action 


254  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

words  at  all.  And  in  the  plan  where  we  make  use  of  nouns 
we  have  been  careful  to  deduce  narrative  nouns  from  the 
original  otitline.  It  is  perhaps  a  little  better  to  use  the  sen- 
tence form  of  plan  at  the  outset  of  our  writing  narration, 
for  we  are  thus  less  likely  to  make  errors  in  the  matter  of 
keeping  our  points  uniform  in  expression  and  indicative  of 
action.  Sentences  are  moreover  clearer  to  the  average 
reader  than  phrases  or  single  words  can  ever  be,  and  it  is 
a  good  exercise  for  us  to  write  complete  sentences  when- 
ever we  can  do  so.  The  minor  points  in  a  narrative  outline 
may  however  be  expressed  in  whatever  form  we  care  to 
use, — words,  phrases,  clauses,  or  sentences, — so  long  of 
course  as  we  express  ourselves  systematically. 

It  is  always  best  when  we  have  a  story  to  tell  to  get 
to  work  at  once  with  it,  to  start  with  some  important  event 
in  that  story,  and  to  conclude  equally  promptly  and  tersely. 
But  sometimes,  particularly  in  long  stories,  it  is  necessary 
to  explain  or  describe  certain  details  at  the  outset,  in  order 
that  the  reader  may  understand  what  is  to  follow.  And 
again,  some  writers  insist  upon  adding  a  moral  to  the  ends 
of  their  stories.  We  have  all  read  such  narrations,  and 
perhaps  we  have  been  bored  not  a  little.  However,  when 
a  story  is  to  contain  either  or  both  of  these,  our  narrative 
plan  must  necessarily  assume  more  or  less  the  formal  style 
of  plan.  We  may,  if  we  choose,  omit  the  middle  point — 
Discussion,  or  Development — and  insert  our  narrative 
points  directly  instead,  but  the  Introduction  and  Conclusion 
should  be  kept  apart  from  the  rest  of  the  plan;  briefly 
thus: — 

I.     Introduction 

1.  Characters 

2.  Scene 

3.  Conditions  or  circumstances 


THE   NARRATIVE   PLAN  255 

11.     Discussion 

or 

II.     He  plunges  in 

I. 

2. 

etc. 

XI.     Conclusion 

1.  A  sadder  but  a  wiser  boy 

2.  Effect  upon  all 

Sometimes  the  introduction  may  be  given  and  not  the  con- 
clusion, and  vice  versa.  We  can  perhaps  conceive  of  the 
necessity  for  an  introduction  a  good  deal  oftener  than 
for  a  conclusion.  The  conclusion  to  most  stories  can  be 
gracefully  absorbed  in  the  resolution  and  this  should  al- 
v^ays  be  attempted.  Too  often  the  conclusion  is  little 
more  than  the  author's  insistence  upon  himself,  the  unre- 
sisted desire  to  express  his  own  comments  upon  the  char- 
acters of  the  story,  or  to  advise  the  reader  of  this,  that, 
or  the  other  useless  thing. 

And  just  here  we  should  fix  in  our  minds  the  mean- 
ing of  the  word  ^'episode'',  though  we  probably  know  ex- 
actly what  it  means  from  the  reading  we  have  done  in 
various  authors.  An  episode  is  a  lesser,  a  subordinate,  a 
minor  event  in  a  story;  or  it  may  be  a  major  happening, 
but  one  that,  standing  alone,  is  not  sufficient  of  itself  to 
form  a  complete  story.  It  is  to  a  narration  very  much 
what  a  phrase  or  a  clause  is  to  a  complete  sentence.  In 
the  above  plan  the  call  for  help,  the  sinking,  the  rescue, 
are  all  episodes  in  or  sections  of  the  story.  A  complete 
narration  is  therefore  made  up  of  a  series  of  coherently 
connected  episodes. 

We  hope  the  rapid  narration  has  not  been  over-accented 


256  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

here,  for  that  would  be  something  of  a  mistake.  The 
average  cheap  detective  story  is  a  bad  example  in  rapid 
narration,  and  is  oftentimes  the  result  of  concentration 
upon  that  type  of  narration  alone.  In  such  stories  the 
writer  has  purposely  exaggerated  and  colored  (too  often 
with  blood)  the  elements  of  suspense  and  climax,  until 
there  is  little  or  nothing  else  to  be  found  in  his  work. 
The  rapidity  of  action  has  become  unregulated  and  un- 
couth. The  author  does  not  keep  it  under  restraint.  A 
boy  once  very  aptly  defined  a  detective  story  as  one  in 
which  the  author  held  the  reader  by  his  hair  over  an  in- 
terminable precipice  and  left  him  hanging  there.  This 
is  a  very  good  definition,  indeed.  But  we  can  ignore  such 
stories  very  profitably  and  without  any  regret  because  we 
have  no  end  of  good  rapid  narration  to  read.  Nearly  all 
of'  those  stories  and  novels  which  are  recommended  by 
our  teachers,  or  which  we  find  in  our  libraries,  are  excel- 
lent rapid  narrations.  Scott,  Dickens,  Stevenson,  Thack- 
eray, and  their  scores  of  brother  and  sister  writers  will 
more  than  satisfy  our  appetites  for  good  and  exciting  nar- 
ration if  we  will  but  let  them.  There  are  also  many 
poems  that  belong  to  this  class  of  narrative,  such  as  By- 
ron's Mazeppa,  Macaulay's  Lays  of  Ancient  Rome,  Cole- 
ridge's Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner,  Arnold's  Sohrab 
and  Riistum,  and  others.  We  shall  find  in  all  of  these 
every  one  of  the  qualities  of  good  narration  without  any 
of  the  bad  qualities  of  the  cheap  detective  story.  We 
might  observe  for  a  moment  just  a  brief  classification  of 
a  few  narratives  we  have  read  from  time  to  time,  indi- 
cating clearly  the  slow  and  the  rapid  type;  and  placing 
between  them  a  group  of  narratives  of  medium  action, 
though  these  will  of  course  be  more  variable  than  the 
other  two  forms : — 


THE    NARRATIVE    PLAN 


257 


Slow — Mrs.  Gaskell's  Cranford — Whittier's  Snowbound — 
Medium — Franklin's  Autobiography — Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Prog- 
ress— Longfellow's  Courtship  of  Miles  Standish — Lowell's  Vision 
of  Sir  Launfal — -Rapid — Scott's  Quentin  Durward  and  Ivanhoe — 
Blackmore's  Lorna  Doone — Dickens'  Tale  of  Two  Cities — Haw- 
thorne's House  of  Seven  Gables — Stevenson's  Treasure  Island — 
Byron's  Mazeppa  and  Prisoner  of  Chilian — Coleridge's  Ancient 
Mariner — Macaulay's  Lays  of  Ancient  Rome. 

Naming  thus  but  a  few,  we  see  that  the  rapid  narratives 
predominate  and  that,  therefore,  we  should  have  no  cause 
to  complain  that  we  have  no  good  reading  of  this  kind. 

It  is  worthy  of  our  consideration  also  that  writers  of 
narration  frequently  feel  the  necessity  of  starting  their 
stories  immediately,  no  matter  what  important  introduc- 
tory details  they  may  have  to  present.  Paradoxical  as  it 
may  appear,  they  will  postpone  the  introduction  until  after 
the  story  itself  is  told,  and  thus  make  of  it  a  kind  of  con- 
clusion. Yet  it  is  not  really  a  conclusion,  because  it  hap- 
pens to  be  placed  last.  We  have  learned  by  this  time,  it 
is  hoped,  that  the  conclusion  of  any  piece  of  writing  is 
not  so  called  because  it  stands  last  in  that  piece  of  writ- 
ing, but  rather  because  it  contains  material  which  by  its 
very  nature  is  condiisive;  and  it  is  the  same  with  the  intro- 
duction :  not  everything  that  stands  first  in  a  piece  of  writ- 
ing is  to  be  called  introductory,  but  there  are  certain  specific 
elements  in  writing  that  are  introductory  by  their  very 
nature,  no  matter  in  what  part  of  that  writing  they  occur. 
We  have  noticed  the  transposed  introduction  in  The  An- 
cient Mariner.  Coleridge  starts  his  story  at  once,  and  the 
reader's  interest  is  thus  caught  just  as  the  Wedding  Guest's 
interest  was  caught  by  the  Mariner,  who  in  turn  began 
his  story  abruptly  and  suddenly.  At  the  end  of  the  poem, 
however,  the  poet  explains,  through  the  Mariner,  how  it 


258  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

happens  that  the  story  is  told  here  and  now,  and  why  it  is 
told  to  such  a  person  as  the  Wedding  Guest.  In  other 
words,  the  time,  the  scene,  the  conditions  of  the  story,  all 
of  which  are  distinctly  introductory  points  and  which  we 
should  expect  naturally  to  be  introduced  at  the  beginning 
or  incidentally  along  the  way,  are  all  stated  at  the  end. 
The  poem  has  also  a  clearly  marked  conclusion  distinct 
from  this  in  the  moral  it  teaches  in  the  four  or  five  last 
quatrains  and  in  the  disposition  of  characters. 

As  in  exposition,  so  in  narration,  those  passages  or 
parts  of  different  kinds  of  composition  that  are  necessary 
to  the  story  should  be  introduced  subordinately.  The  de- 
scriptions of  characters  or  scenes,  the  explanations  of  con- 
ditions, all  of  which  may  be  very  necessary  to  a  proper  un- 
derstanding of  our  story,  should  be  kept  strictly  incidental 
and  subordinate. 

Remembering  then  that  narration  is,  as  an  account  of 
action,  arranged  chronologically,  and,  if  rapid,  arranged 
also  through  steps  of  suspense  to  a  climax  and  brief  reso- 
lution, we  come  now  to  the  consideration  of  one  or  two 
special  types  of  narration.  Many  of  our  reading  problems 
in  arithmetic  and  algebra  are  short  narratives  to  which  we 
strive  to  find  correct  resolutions.  History  is  a  story  of 
what  has  actually  happened  in  the  past.  Sometimes  it  is 
very  slow  narration,  to  be  sure,  and  sometimes,  when  re- 
counting the  events  in  an  attack  or  a  battle,  it  is  very  rapid 
indeed ;  and  of  course  it  must  always  contain  a  fair  amount 
of  exposition  and  description.  But  after  all  the  different 
kinds  of  composition  have  been  taken  account  of  in  the 
history  of  any  particular  country  or  of  any  particular 
period,  we  shall  find  that  narration  predominates,  that  all 
the  other  forms  have  combined  in  such  a  way  as  to  make 
narration  the  type  of  the  whole. 


THE   NARRATIVE   PLAN 


259 


We  referred  at  the  end  of  the  preceding  chapter  to  the 
narrative  character  sketch.  This  form  of  composition  is 
nothing  more  or  less  than  the  elucidation  of  certain  char- 
acteristics by  means  of  action  on  the  part  of  the  character. 
By  what  our  subject  does,  our  readers  are  able  to  infer 
pretty  accurately  what  he  is.  The  titles  for  such  composi- 
tions are  usually  simply  the  names  of  the  characters  about 
whom  we  are  writing,  or  their  names  with  their  leading 
characteristics  added.     Thus : — 

"FRECKLES''  (or  "  TRECKLES/  THE  DARING'O 

Point  of  View — That  of  a  fire  chief 

Purpose — To  show  Freckles'  superiority  over  other  men 

I.     Introduction 

I.  How  he  got  his  name 

II.     Freckles  discovers  fire 
I. 
2. 

3. 

HI.     Freckles  sends  in  alarms 

I. 

2. 

3. 
IV.     Freckles  is  the  first  in  the  burning  building  and  the 
last  out 

I. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

V.     Freckles  carries  burning  people  down  ladders  to  safety 
I. 
2. 
3. 


26o  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

VI.     Freckles  refuses  rewards 
I. 
2. 
3. 

In  this  composition,  we  read  about  Freckles'  doings  and 
from  them  we  gather  exactly  what  kind  of  fellow  he  really 
is.  As  a  rule  there  is  a  minimum  of  description  given, 
either  by  way  of  introduction  or  as  incidental  to  the  whole 
story.  We  are  concerned  almost  only  with  the  actions  of 
the  character  because  we  are  writing  a  narrative  character 
sketch. 

Biography,  together  with  autobiography,  forms  one  of 
the  most  important  types  of  narration,  rapid  if  of  such 
men  as  Napoleon  and  Washington;  slow,  if  of  such  men 
as  Emerson  and  Thoreau;  sometimes  both  rapid  and  slow, 
if  of  such  men  as  Tolstoy  and  Lincoln.  Having,  as  it  does, 
a  maximum  of  event  and  a  minimum  of  character  sketch 
and  description,  it  belongs,  as  we  were  told  in  the  preced- 
ing chapter,  to  narration  proper.  It  is  a  life  story.  Of 
course  by  telling  the  main  events  and  happenings  in  a 
man's  life,  we  may  throw  the  brightest  light  upon  his  char- 
acter, but  it  is  a  reflected  light,  reflected  from  the  story 
of  his  life,  and  we  are  not  writing  then  a  character  sketch 
per  se.  The  exhibition  of  characteristics  is  a  more  or  less 
incidental  thing. 

The  most  common  type  of  plan  for  the  average  "Life'' 
runs  in  chronological  fashion,  very  much  as  follows : — 
I.    Birth 
II.     Early  education 

III.  Profession  (including  start  in  life) 

IV.  Great  works  and  achievements 
V.     Retirement 

VI.     Death 


THE    NARRATIVE    PLAN  261 

Often  the  mere  details  are  given  at  the  beginning,  and 
the  last  point  is  devoted  to  eulogizing  the  subject  of  the 
sketch : — 

I.     Dates  (birth  and  death) 
11.     Early  education 

HI.     Profession  (including  start  in  life) 
IV.     Great  works  and  achievements 
V.     Retirement 

VI.     Eulogy  (summary  of  achievements  and  the  world^s  in- 
debtedness to  subject) 

Again,  we  may  find  that  a  biography  or  autobiography- 
can  be  inverted,  as  it  were,  with  most  interesting  and  tell- 
ing effect.  We  may  start  with  the  latest  and  most  vivid 
affairs  in  a  man's  life, — his  last  utterances,  his  death,  his 
funeral  and  interment.  Then  we  can  proceed  to  his  great 
life  affairs  and  conclude  perhaps  with  a  contrast  between 
our  subject's  great  accomplishments  and  his  humble  birth 
and  parentage.     To  illustrate : — 

I.     Conclusion  of  a  great  and  glorious  life 
I. 
2. 

3. 

4. 

II.  Phenomenal  achievements 
I. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
III.  Equipment  for  this  work  the  key  to  his  life 
I. 
2. 
3. 


262  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

IV.  His  success  compared  and  contrasted  with  his  humble 
beginnings 
I. 
2. 

3- 

4. 

And  still  another  method  in  biography  and  autobiogra- 
phy is  to  start  with  a  man's  great  works  and  center  all 
other  details  of  his  life  about  these  as  mere  incidents  or 
as  contributing  factors  to  them. 

This  wide  leeway  may  lead  us  to  think  that  we  may 
employ  almost  any  method  in  writing  biography.  Well, 
we  may  do  so,  provided  that  here  as  everywhere  else  our 
work  evidences  plan  and  system,  and  does  not  present  a 
man's  career  as  a  jumbled  mass  of  unrelated  experiences. 
The  outline  of  a  man's  life  depends  so  largely  upon  what 
kind  of  man  he  happened  to  be  that  it  is  more  difficult  here 
than  anywhere  else  to  lay  down  hard  and  fast  rules  about 
a  plan  for  his  biography.  No  two  men  are  exactly  alike, 
and  it  is  natural  therefore  that  accounts  of  men's  lives 
must  vary  accordingly.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  we  have 
postponed  this  form  of  narration  till  the  last,  after  we 
have  studied  the  various  styles  of  outlining.  We  now 
have  a  sufficient  foundation  in  planning,  or  should  have, 
to  enable  us  to  make  a  dozen  different  kinds  of  biographic 
outlines  and  have  them  all  equally  good.  We  must  bear 
in  mind,  however,  that,  in  all  cases  where  we  are  dealing 
with  a  character  whose  life  has  been  made  up  of  a  series 
of  events  each  more  exciting  than  the  other,  until  a  climax 
in  his  career  is  reached,  we  should  treat  our  subject  just 
as  we  would  any  other  narrative  subject.  Our  purpose, 
in  other  words,  should  be  to  make  a  good  story  of  the  life 
of   a  man,   provided   the   elements   in   that   life   warrant 


THE   NARRATIVE   PLAN  263 

our  doing  so  without  any  exaggeration.  It  will  be  prac- 
tically the  same  as  a  narrative  character  sketch,  with  the 
exception  that  it  will  be  much  wider  in  scope  and  much 
more  detailed  in  information. 


EXERCISE 

(Remember  that  your  plans  should  have  Purpose  and 
Point  of  View,  and  that  in  writing  upon  most  of  the  sub- 
jects suggested  below  you  should  use  your  imagination 
freely  if  you  would  make  your  narration  interesting.) 

I.     Plan  and  write  slow  narrations  on  the  following 
topics : — 

My  Day  in  School 
Watching  a  Robin 
A  Walk  with  Rover 
Saturday  Morning's  Sport 
How  We  Went  to  the  Fair 

II.     Show  by  means  of  outline  how  all  of  the  above 
may  be  converted  into  rapid  narrations. 

III.  Deduce  a  good  narrative  plan  from  some  story 
(prose  or  poetry)  you  have  read.  Indicate  suspense,  cli- 
max, and  resolution. 

IV.  Draw     up     rapid     narrative     plans^sentence, 
clausal,  or  topical — on  the  following : — 

A  Brave  Rescue        •  .  At  the  Game 

Frank  and  the  Indians  Tom's  Great  Hit 

A  Spirited  Contest  Robinson's   Downfall 

Catching  a  Fish  Jim's  Quickness 

A  Sensational  Home-run  Rocking  the  Boat 

V.     Make  a  plan  of  some  battle  you  have  studied 
about  in  history.     Include   exposition  and  description  in 


264  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

the  plan,   and   accompany  it  with  marginal  diagrams  of 
the  fields  and  battle  lines. 

VI.     Plan  and  write  a  biography  of 

a.  Tabby  the  Cat 

b.  Frank  the  Horse 

c.  Rover  the  Dog 

VIL     Make  a  plan  of  your  own  life  of  the  past  two 
or  three  years. 

VIII.     Make  a  formal  narrative  outline,  based  upon 
and  elaborating  the  following  story : — 

In  consequence  of  hunger,  John  steals  fruit  from  a  fruit- 
stand.  He  is  taken  before  the  magistrate  by  a  policeman. 
His  father  and  mother  appear.  A  rich  man  arrives  in  his 
motor  at  the  last  moment.  The  boy  is  pardoned.  He  starts 
life  anew. 

IX.  Plan  the  story  of  some  hero  or  heroine  you  have 
read  about  in  literature.  Imagine  yourself  figuring  in  the 
story  and  write  it  therefore  in  the  first  person. 

X.  Write  a  narrative  character  sketch  of  each  of 
the  following,  imagining  each  to  have  done  some  deed  that 
brings  out  particular  qualities.  You  may  add  the  leading 
characteristic  of  each  to  the  title  if  you  prefer:  *'Reddy'' — 
'Tatty"— "Gritty"— "Bunny"— "King". 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  DESCRIPTIVE  PLAN 

Description  is  a  word  picture  of  any  person,  place  or 
thing.  The  first  and  easiest  arrangement  of  material  for 
description  is  of  course  the  natural  one,  or  the  one  that 
corresponds  most  nearly  to  our  method  of  viewing  a  thing 
with  the  eye.  If  we  look  at  a  field,  we  see  first  the  broad, 
general  expanse  and  outlines  of  the  field.  We  have  no 
close  or  detailed  scrutiny  of  anything  in  the  field,  but  just 
a  most  general  idea  of  it.  As  we  continue  gazing  at  it, 
however,  our  eyes  become  focused  or  adjusted,  so  that  we 
see  more  and  more  minutely  into  the  field  and  witness  all 
that  it  contains.  The  finest  details  are  brought  out  clearly 
to  our  view  proportionately  to  the  length  of  time  we  spend 
in  gazing  at  it.  In  other  words,  our  viewing  of  objects 
is  directed  from  the  general  to  the  particular;  our  eyes 
grow  more  and  more  capable  the  longer  we  concentrate 
them  upon  an  object;  again,  our  method  of  seeing  things 
is,  to  use  a  homely  figure,  somewhat  funnel-shaped,  as  fol- 
lows : — 

General 

to 

Particular 


It  begins  broadly  and  focuses  to  a  point.     What  more  nat- 
ural therefore  than  to  arrange  our  word-picture, — which 

265 


266  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

must  be  a  reproduction  of  our  visual  picture — in  the  same 
order  in  which  we  actually  see  it? 

We  shall  have  then  in  our  descriptive  composition  plan 
two  main  divisions, — one  setting  forth  a  general  view  and 
one  setting  forth  a  particular  or  detailed  view.  The  first 
of  these  divisions  is  sometimes  called  The  Glance,  be- 
cause it  represents  about  as  much,  with  about  as  much 
accuracy,  as  we  see  when  we  glance  at  an  object  momen- 
tarily and  then  look  away.  The  second  division  is  some- 
times called  The  Detail  (or  Details),  because  here  we  re- 
cord what  we  see  on  closer  and  continued  study.  Now, 
bearing  in  mind  these  two  grand  divisions  of  our  method 
of  seeing,  and  therefore  of  our  method  of  writing  about 
what  we  see,  we  must  also  understand  what  proportion 
exists  between  the  two  parts.  Immediately  we  have 
glanced  at  a  thing  and  have  fixed  its  general  outlines  in 
our  minds,  we  begin  to  study  it  more  closely,  if  we  con- 
tinue to  look  at  it  at  all.  We  do  not  tarry  long  with 
the  general  view  because  our  eyes  will  not  allow  us  to 
do  so.  By  the  very  nature  of  their  organization  they  in- 
sist upon  going  into  the  details  of  the  picture  or  turning 
to  something  else.  They  must  scrutinize  more  and  more 
minutely  every  instant  they  gaze  at  the  thing  which  at 
first  they  saw  only  casually.  Our  glance  or  general  view 
will  therefore  be  much  briefer  than  our  particular  or 
detailed  view,  because,  as  we  understand  from  the 
above,  it  is  the  natural  method  for  it  to  follow.  More- 
over, our  descriptive  plan  should  be  topical  or  phrasal; 
and  just  as  the  verb  is  par  excellence  the  narrative  part 
of  speech,  so  the  adjective  is  the  descriptive  part  of 
speech. 

With  this  much  information  in  mind,  then,  let  us  ex- 
pand our  picture  of  the  field  into  a  plan: — 


THE   DESCRIPTIVE   PLAN  267 

I.  General  view 

1.  Size — large 

2.  Shape— square 

3.  Color — yellow 

Now  as  we  concentrate  upon  it  and  study  it  more  and 
more  carefully,  the  contents  of  the  field  will  dawn  upon  our 
vision  in  some  regular  order,  from  the  larger  to  the 
smaller,  from  the  more  striking  to  the  less  striking.  The 
generalized  view  will  not  only  become  particularized,  but 
all  around  and  about  it  new  objects  will  loom  into  view, 
and  the  record  of  what  we  now  see  may  be  set  down  in 
some  such  fashion  as  this : — 

II.  Particular  view 

1.  Wheat 

a.  very  ripe 

b.  large  quantity 

c.  partly  standing 

d.  partly  shocked 

2.  Men 

a.  at  reaping 
^    b.  at  binding 

3.  Boys 

a.  carrying  sheaves 

4.  Two  dogs 

This  represents  then  the  order  in  which  we  would  see  the 
field  and  its  contents. 

We  must  understand  now  another  element  in  descrip- 
tion :  namely,  The  Impression  we  get  from  the  picture,  the 
person,  the  scene,  or  the  object  that  we  are  portraying. 
Rarely  do  we  see  anything  that  we  are  not  in  some  way 
impressed  by  it.  So  in  writing  a  word-picture  we  will 
state  at  the  conclusion  briefly  just  what  impression  is  made 
upon  us,  and  we  will  therefore  be  stating  indirectly  just 


268  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

what  impression  we  hope  we  have  made  upon  the  reader  in 
our  composition.  There  will  be  danger  doubtless  of  our 
confusing  the  impression  with  the  purpose  or  the  glance. 
The  three  are,  however,  distinctly  different  one  from  an- 
other, and  we  must  bear  the  difference  in  mind  carefully, 
so  that  we  shall  not  repeat  in  our  impression  what  we 
have  stated  previously  in  the  purpose  or  glance.  The  pur- 
pose tells  exactly  what  our  object  is  in  writing  the  com- 
position, what  we  are  going  to  show  or  prove;  the  glance, 
let  us  repeat,  states  just  what  we  see,  looking  for  the 
first  time  at  the  object  we  are  describing;  the  impression 
states  what  feeling  the  whole  gives  to  us  after  our  having 
shown  something  about  it,  after  our  having  seen  it.  The 
impression  is  further  different  from  the  glance  in  that  it 
is  a  glance  within  ourselves,  as  it  were,  after  we  have 
viewed  a  thing  fully.  If  we  close  our  eyes  for  a  moment 
and  study  the  image  that  arises  in  connection  with  the 
scene  we  have  just  witnessed,  we  shall  not  be  far  from 
the  true  impression  we  have  received.  If  we  have  been 
going  through  a  home,  its  comfort  may  have  impressed 
us;  if  through  an  office  building,  its  convenience;  if 
through  a  battleship,  its  equipment,  its  strength,  or  its 
solidity.  But  the  general  view  or  glance  of  all  of  these 
is  a  distinctly  different  thing.  It  cannot  be  nearly  so 
complete  or  conclusive  with  an  object  in  describing  which 
we  have  been  obliged  to  move  from  place  to  place.  We 
cannot  of  course  see  all  of  the  thing  at  once,  but  our 
glance  in  such  a  case  must  give  as  much  as  can  be  seen, 
or  must  deduce,  from  seeing  a  part,  what  the  whole  is  like. 
Now,  we  are  prepared  to  complete  our  plan,  including  in 
it  all  the  elements  of  simple  description: 


THE   DESCRIPTIVE   PLAN  269 

THE  FIELD 

I.     Point  of  View :   From  one  side  of  the  field 
11.     Purpose :  To  show  the  spirit  of  the  harvest 

III.  Glance: 

1.  Size — large 

2.  Shape — square 

3.  Color — yellow 

IV.  Details : 

1.  Wheat 

a.  very  ripe 

b.  large  quantity 

c.  partly  standing 

d.  partly  shocked 

2.  Men 

a.  at  reaping 

b.  at  binding 

3.  Boys 

a.  carrying  sheaves 

4.  Two  dogs 

a.  looking  for  mice 

V.     Impression:  Industry,  thrift,  and  happiness 

This  represents  the  most  common  type  of  descriptive 
w^riting,  taking,  as  it  does,  the  word-picture  directly  from 
the  eye-picture  of  the  scene  viev^ed,  and  consisting  of 
these  five  grand  divisions  in  the  proportion  indicated  by 
the  spacing: — 

I.  Point  of  View 

II.  Purpose 

III.  Glance 

IV.  Detail 


V.     Impression 


270  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

In  viewing  a  certain  scene  or  person  or  object  it  is 
quite  natural  that  our  attention  may  be  arrested  by  some- 
thing peculiar,  by  something  that  stands  out  as  distinct  and 
unique.  In  such  a  case  we  should  be  justified  in  giving 
our  first  attention  to  that  striking  feature  because  our 
eye  is  naturally  caught  by  it  first.  If,  in  the  middle  of 
our  field,  there  had  been  a  huge  steam-thresher,  we  should 
of  course  have  seen  it  at  once,  and  we  should  have  gath- 
ered up  with  our  eyesight  all  the  remaining  details  of  the 
field  as  a  sort  of  fringe  to  this  central  figure.  The  con- 
tents of  our  plan,  then,  recording  our  view  of  the  field, 
would  be  somewhat  different.  The  glance  and  the  details 
would  have  a  changed  content  and  proportion.  In  fact, 
we  might  dispense  with  these  names  altogether  perhaps, 
and  proceed  by  means  of  an  informal  outline  follow- 
ing the  descriptive  sequence  of  development.  We  will  re- 
vise our  plan  of  the  field  to  meet  the  new  conditions ;  first, 
using  the  descriptive  plan ;  second,  using  the  informal  plan. 
The  title,  the  point  of  view,  the  purpose  and  the  impres- 
sion, all  remaining  the  same  as  in  our  previous  plan,  will 
not  be  repeated: 

(I) 

III.  Glance 

1.  Huge  engine  and  machine 

2.  Much  smoke  and  noise 

3.  Large  piles  of  straw  and  grain 

IV.  Details 

I.  Around  the  engine 

a.  Feeding  the  grain 

b.  Taking  away  the  straw 

c.  The  number  of  laborers 

d.  The  noise  and  bustle 


THE    DESCRIPTIVE    PLAN  271 

2.  Other  parts  of  field 

a.  Wheat  standing 

b.  Wheat  shocked 

c.  Reapers  and  binders 

d.  The  carriers 

e.  The  watchful  dogs 

V.     Impression 

(2) 

I.     The  huge  engine 
a. 
b. 
c. 
d. 

II.     The  scene  about  it 
a. 
b. 
c. 

III.  The  scene  elsewhere 

I. 

a. 

b. 
2. 

a. 

b. 

c. 

IV.  The  spirit  of  the  field 

a. 
b. 
c. 

Both  forms  of  plan  are  good.  Both  proceed  from  the 
general  to  the  particular.  Both  consistently  and  regu- 
larly develop  the  picture.  But  the  striking  figure  in  the 
picture  has  more  or  less  reversed  our  order  of  procedure. 
In  our  first  description  of  the  field  we  saw  at  first  every- 


272.  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

thing  in  a  general  way  and  then  focused  on  each  particu- 
lar object  more  minutely.  In  our  second  description  we 
focused  on  a  particular  thing  at  once,  because  it  im- 
pressed us  at  once,  and  then  we  proceeded  to  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  other  things  in  the  field.  We  took  the  large 
and  noticeable  thing  as  our  center  first  and  then  radiated 
from  this  in  every  direction  about  the  field. 

It  is  necessary  that  we  understand  a  little  better  than 
was  explained  in  Chapter  VII  just  what  is  meant  by  Point 
of  View  in  its  application  to  description.  It  was  hinted 
there  that  point  of  view  in  description  means  the  place 
from  which  we  view  an  object.  This  is  the  point  of  view 
of  position  and  the  kind  of  point  of  view  that  we  shall 
most  commonly  have  to  use  in  our  descriptions.  But  it 
often  happens  that,  when  we  look  at  a  thing,  we  move 
closer  to  it  as  we  study  it,  or  perhaps  we  are  obliged  to 
walk  around  it  to  get  a  complete  view  of  it.  In  such 
cases  we  have  what  is  known  as  moving  point  of  view. 
In  planning,  as  well  as  in  writing  a  descriptive  composition 
in  which  we  make  use  of  a  moving  point  of  view,  we 
should  always  inform  the  reader,  by  some  word  or  phrase, 
of  the  time  and  place  of  change,  and,  in  some  instances  also, 
why  the  position  is  changed. 

Suppose  now  that  in  our  study  of  this  field  we  became 
so  interested  that  we  changed  our  position  frequently. 
From  our  first  point  of  view,  on  one  side  of  the  field,  we 
took  in  a  general  view  of  it.  But  after  a  brief  glance 
about,  we  walked  over  to  the  engine  perhaps  and  went 
completely  around  it.  Then  perhaps  we  walked  to  the 
standing  wheat  to  examine  that.  From  here  we  may  have 
proceeded  to  the  shocks,  to  the  workers  and,  last,  to  the 
dogs.  The* effect  of  thus  changing  our  point  of  view  in 
the  field  would  be  simply  to  give  us  a  closer,  more  de- 


THE    DESCRIPTIVE   PLAN  273 

tailed  view  of  each  separate  part  or  object.  Perhaps  there 
is  not  so  much  to  be  gained  by  changing  one's  point  of 
view  in  the  examination  of  something  all  of  which  can 
be  seen  at  once.  But  in  describing  the  exterior  or  the 
interior  of  a  home,  all  of  which  cannot  of  course  be  seen 
at  once,  this  moving  about  from  place  to  place  is  most, 
necessary.  From  no  single  point  shall  we  be  able  to  see 
all  of  a  house,  whether  we  are  to  describe  the  inside  or 
the  outside  of  it.  If  describing  the  interior  we  must  pass 
hirom  room  to  room;  if  the  exterior,  we  must  walk  all 
around  it.  Let  us  now  examine  an  outline  based  upon 
such  a  moving  point  of  view : 


AN    OLD    ENGLISH   MANSION 

I.     Point  of  View:    From  the  entrance,  moving  through  the 
house  back  to  the  entrance 

II.     Purpose :  to   show  the   irregularity  of  the  interior  of  an 
old  English  mansion 

III.  Glance : 

1.  Low  and  expansive 

2.  Plain  and  substantial 

3.  Tastefully  furnished 

IV.  Details : 

A.  Downstairs 

1.  Entrance  hall  and  stairs 

a.  Broad 

b.  Well-lighted 

c.  Easy  lounge 

2.  Drawing-room,    up   two    steps   to    right   of   en- 

trance 

a.  Many  windows 

b.  Well-furnished 
p.  Piano 


274  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

3.  Parlor,  down  one  step  to  left  of  entrance 

a.  Six  windows,  beautifully  curtained 

b.  Extremely  large 

c.  Fine  paintings 

d.  Elegantly  furnished 

4.  Dining-room,  rear  of  hall,  down  one  step  from 

parlor  and  drawing-room 

a.  Mahogany  table 

b.  Trophies  of  hunt 

c.  Magnificent  plate 

5.  Kitchen,  rear  of  dining  hall,  up  one  step 

a.  Rows  of  well-scoured  pots  and  pans  ' 

b.  Immense  stove 

c.  Large  table 

d.  Pantry  to  right 
B.  Upstairs 

1.  Red  room,  head  of  stairs,  over  dining-room 

2.  Blue  room,  up  two  steps  from  hall,  over  draw- 

ing-room 

3.  Green   room,    down    one   step    from    hall,    over 

parlor 

4.  Small  hall 

a.  From  great  hall 

b.  To  bath-room,  over  kitchen 

V.     Impression :  It  gives  one  the  impression  of  being  the  home 
of  refined,  well-to-do,  old-fashioned  people. 


We  may  also  have  a  personal  point  of  viev^  in  descrip- 
tion, though  usually  it  is  not  expressed.  But  it  must  be 
clear  to  us  that  a  farmer  viev^ing  a  field  would  see  it  in 
a  somewhat  different  light  from  an  artist,  though  both  of 
them  view  it  from  the  same  place.  The  same  difference 
will  be  found  to  exist  in  the  treatment  of  almost  any  sub- 
ject from  two  or  more  personal  standpoints.  We  need 
express  this,  however,  only  when  we  feel  that  we  would 
like  to  present  our  picture  through  some  particular  view 


THE    DESCRIPTIVE    PLAN  275 

in  order  better  to  bring  out  its  qualities.  Mostly,  in  writ- 
ing description,  we  shall  do  well  to  confine  ourselves  to 
the  layman's  point  of  view,  as  most  of  us  will  doubtless  be 
viewing  objects  in  a  general  way  for  general  purposes. 
If,  in  addition  to  this  view,  however,  we  can  add  a  special 
point  of  view,  our  work  will  be  the  more  definite  for  our 
doing  so. 

It  occurs  time  and  time  again  that  we  are  obliged  to 
group  our  description  of  a  person  about  some  central 
point  in  his  appearance  that  is  striking,  just  as  we  did  with 
the  engine  in  the  field.  Whatever  there  may  be  about 
him  that  is  striking  we  take  first,  and  gather  around 
it  those  features  that  are  much  the  same  as  in  other 
people.  Thus  we  remember  Higg  the  son  of  Snell  in 
Scott's  Ivanhoe  for  his  lameness;  we  remember  Ichabod 
Crane  in  Irving's  Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow  for  his  thin- 
ness and  lankness;  we  remember  certain  peculiarities  about 
our  friends,  about  buildings,  and  about  scenes  first,  be- 
cause these  impressed  or  '^struck"  us  first,  and  we  use  them 
about  which  to  construct  the  remaining  details  by  means, 
of  which  we  build  up  a  whole  and  complete  picture.  ''He 
is  a  hunch-back",  'That  man  is  a  cripple'',  *'He  has  a 
treacherous  eye",  '1  don't  like  his  large,  square  jaw",  and 
other  similar  expressions  that  we  hear  made  about  people 
indicate  centers  of  description  for  us  easily  to  designate 
whom  we  refer  to.  We  may  illustrate  such  a  personal 
description  as  follows : 


276  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

TOM  THUMB 
I.     Point  of  View : 

1.  Position 

a.  Directly  in  front  of  him 

2.  Personal 

a.  Curious  spectator  at  theater 

II.  Purpose :  To  show  the  extraordinary  smallness  of  the  man 

III.  Glance : 

1.  Size 

a.  Extremely  short 

b.  Features  proportionately  small 

c.  Like  a  child  in  appearance 

2.  Color 

3.  Clothing 

IV.  Details : 


I. 

Physique 

a.  Height  in  feet  and  inches 

b.  Weight,  approximately 

c.  Strength,  approximately 

d.  Smallness  probably  a  deformity 

2. 

Features  all  small 

a.  Head 

b.  Face 

c.  Nose 

d.  Ears 

e.  Mouth 

f.  Neck 

3- 

Arms  and  legs 

4. 

Body 

a.  Small 

b.  Thin 

V.     Impression :  Reminded  me  of  one  of  the  pigmies  in  Guilt- 
ver's  Travels 

On  the  other  hand,  when  there  is  no  abnormal  or  strik- 
ingly characteristic  thing  about  people,  we  shall  find  that 


THE    DESCRIPTIVE    PLAN  277 

they  are  described  by  the  best  authors  in  a  regular,  some- 
times monotonous,  way.  They  will  commence,  as  we  have 
done  in  our  plans,  with  a  general  view  and  then  take  up 
in  detail  the  features,  either  from  head  to  foot,  or  in 
some  other  quite  systematic  manner ;  thus : — 

EVANS 

I.     Point  of  View: — A  few  feet  in  front  of  subject 

II.     Purpose : — To  show  what  an  excellent  type  of  man  he  is 

physically 
III.     Glance : — 

1.  Size 

2.  Color 

3.  Clothing 

IV.     Details  :— 

1.  Head 

2.  Neck 

3.  Shoulders 

4.  Arms 

5.  Body 

6.  Legs 

7.  Feet 

V.     Impression : — 

I.  A  vigorous,  healthy,  well-developed  man 

Scott's  description  of  Quentin  Durward,  Cooper's  de- 
scription of  David  Gamut  in  The  Last  of  the  Mohicans, 
are  excellent  examples  of  such  a  method  of  describing  per- 
sons. The  plan  above  can  of  course  be  made  much  more 
detailed  by  the  insertion  of  descriptive  adjectives  after 
each  topic. 

We  may  compare  the  two  methods  of  description  dis- 
cussed so  far  with  the  picture  an  artist  would  paint  of  some 
group  of  people.     If  he  wished  to  bring  out  some  striking 


278  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

situation,  such  as  a  tableau  in  a  drama  or  an  opera,  he 
would  place  the  character  or  characters  participating  in  it 
in  the  foreground  of  his  picture,  arranging  all  the  others 
in  the  background.  If  on  the  other  hand  he  were  paint- 
ing the  characters  as  grouped  for  a  photograph,  not  rep- 
resenting their  several  parts  or  any  particular  situation,  he 
would  strive  to  give  to  one  as  much  light  and  prominence 
as  to  another. 

Thus  far  we  have  confined  our  study  almost  entirely 
to  the  form  of  outline  to  be  used  in  building  up  a  descrip- 
tion, and  this  is  our  main  business.  But  we  must  also 
consider  briefly  the  different  kinds  of  description  in  order 
that  we  may  understand  how  our  descriptive  plans  should 
vary  according  as  we  are  writing  one  kind  or  another. 

The  simplest  type  of  description  is  that  we  have  just 
dealt  with;  namely,  the  description  that  pictures  anything 
in  the  natural  way  by  means  of  words  among  which  ad- 
jectives predominate.  We  may  call  this,  for  purposes  of 
convenience,  simple  description.  In  it,  as  we  have  seen,  we 
always  report  directly  what  we  have  witnessed  through 
the  agency  of  our  senses  and  we  make  that  report  in  the 
simplest,  most  straightforward  language  we  know.  We 
must  select  adjectives  that  have  accurate  application;  verbs 
that  have  descriptive  value,  such  as,  rustle,  scream,  strug- 
gle, gurgle,  etc. ;  nouns  that  are  not  only  the  names  of 
things,  but  that  describe  those  things  in  part  also  at  the 
same  time,  such  as  effort,  blood,  home,  castle,  rapids,  etc. ; 
and  adverbs  that  describe  as  well  as  define  action,  such  as 
roughly,  stealthily,  greedily,  ferociously,  etc.  Nowhere  is 
the  careful  selection  of  words  so  important  for  us  as 
in  writing  description.  Here,  as  nowhere  else,  we  must 
refuse  to  rest  until  we  have  found  the  inevitable  word,  the 
word  that  exactly  dovetails  with  an  accurate  picture  of 


THE    DESCRIPTIVE    PLAN 


279 


the  scene  we  are  trying  to  depict.  Here,  too,  we  must 
give  our  senses  full  play.  We  may  be  inclined  at  first  to 
think  that  seeing  is  our  whole  concern  in  equipping  our- 
selves to  picture  things.  It  is  very  important  indeed,  but 
it  is  by  no  means  to  be  used  to  the  exclusion  of  hearing, 
feeling,  smelling,  and  tasting.  We  must  hear  a  sound 
before  we  can  describe  it;  we  must  feel  the  brier  before  we 
can  tell  just  exactly  what  its  prick  is  like;  we  must  smell 
the  new-mown  hay  if  we  would  describe  its  odor  to  an- 
other; and  we  must  taste  our  food  before  we  can  tell 
others  whether  it  is  bitter  or  sweet.  Of  course  seeing  may 
help  in  all  of  these  processes.  More,  all  of  our  senses 
may  be  called  into  play  in  the  description  of  a  single  situa- 
tion ;  or  any  two  or  three  of  them  may  be  required  in  com- 
bination, the  others  not  being  necessary  for  a  complete  un- 
derstanding of  it;  and  often  our  sight  alone  is  all  that  is 
necessary  to  the  full  and  effective  description  of  a  scene 
or  object.  We  must  therefore  learn  to  give  our  senses 
full  and  free  rein  and  then  to  search  untiringly  until  we 
find  words  that  adequately  express  what  they  experience. 
The  youngster  who  said,  "Ice-cream  soda  tastes  like  a 
sneeze  feels,"  did  both  of  these  things  pretty  accurately, 
if  somewhat  crudely.  In  simple  description,  then,  we 
transfer  directly  to  paper,  by  means  of  especially  chosen 
words,  the  picture  of  a  scene  or  object  or  person  exactly 
as  we  sense  it.  Our  descriptions  above  of  the  field  and 
of  the  person  are  simple  descriptions.  Of  course  the  care- 
ful choosing  of  our  words  and  the  full  play  and  interpre- 
tation of  sense  impression  are  necessary  in  all  description, 
but,  because  simple  description  is  the  most  common  and 
the  type  which  most  of  us  will  be  called  upon  to  write 
most  often,  it  is  particularly  important  that  we  bear  them 
in  mind  in  this  connection. 


28o  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

A  second  kind  of  description  is  description  by  means  of 
comparison.  Here,  in  order  to  make  another  person  see 
the  picture  we  are  portraying  as  we  have  seen  it,  we  com- 
pare the  object  to  be  described  to  something  that  the  other 
person  has  seen  and  thus  make  it  easier  for  him  to  grasp 
the  picture.  We  are  constantly  making  use  of  such  com- 
parisons in  our  conversation  and  writing.  Some  one  asks 
us  whom  John  looks  like.  We  reply  by  saying  that 
he  resembles  Bill.  We  thus  compare  John,  whom  our 
inquirer  has  never  seen,  to  Bill,  whom  he  has  seen,  and 
therefore  give  him  the  best  possible  idea  of  John's  appear- 
ance. "He  swims  like  a  fish",  ''she  sings  like  a  bird", 
''they  dance  like  fairies",  and  the  hundred  other  compari- 
sons we  make  daily  use  of,  are  descriptions  by  means  of 
comparison.  They  are  of  course  similes,  the  simile  being 
the  simplest  figure  of  comparison.  We  cannot  do  better 
than  identify  this  figure  closely  with  comparative  descrip- 
tion, for  we  can  always  use  it  to  advantage  when  we  are 
concerned  with  giving  another  a  picture  of  something  he 
has  never  seen. 

But  we  must  employ  not  only  the  short  simile,  such  as 
those  just  used;  we  must  also  use  the  sustained  or  con- 
tinued or  lengthened  simile  if  we  would  be  absolutely  clear. 
It  may  not  be  enough  to  say  that  a  house  is  shaped  like 
the  letter  L.  An  extended  comparison  of  the  house  with 
the  letter  L  will  bring  out  clearly  that  the  entrance  is, 
perhaps,  in  the  angle;  that  the  kitchen  is  located  at  the 
top  of  the  letter;  that  the  dining-room  is  between  the 
kitchen  and  the  entrance  hall;  that  the  large  living-room 
is  situated  to  the  right  of  the  entrance  on  the  lower  hook 
of  the  letter.  Such  comparisons  as  this  are  common  in 
literature.  With  the  slightest  cultivation  of  inventiveness 
we  can  find  a  suitable  sustained  comparison  for  almost  any- 


THE    DESCRIPTIVE    PLAN  281 

thing  we  are  called  upon  to  describe.  We  have  many 
numbers  and  many  letters  at  our  command,  and  we  have 
no  end  of  other  material  in  our  minds  from  which  we 
can,  with  a  little  thought,  draw  apt  comparison  and  illus- 
tration. We  should  not  deny  our  work  this  little  thought, 
for  just  in  so  far  as  it  is  made  clear  by  shrewd  and  clever 
illustration  will  it  be  enriched. 

We  see,  however,  that  such  description  is  more  or  less 
involved;  that  it  is  not  simple  and  direct,  but  that  it  is 
somewhat  complex  and  roundabout.  We  may  not  picture 
the  thing  itself  at  all,  but  rather  something  that  it  is  like, 
in  order  that  it  may  be  pictured  with  very  approximate 
closeness.  We  may  in  summary  state  the  method  in  a 
somewhat  equational  form  as  follows : — 

John  has  seen  X  but  has  never  seen  Y. 
I  have  seen  X  and  Y  both. 

Therefore,  I  give  John  a  good  idea  of  Y  by  comparing 
Y  with  X. 

The  third  type  of  description  is  description  by  effects; 
the  description  of  a  person,  place,  or  thing,  that  is,  by  tell- 
ing how  one  is  affected  by  that  person,  place,  or  thing. 
This  IS  still  further  removed  from  simple  description  than 
comparative  description  is.  It  has  a  minimum  of  descrip- 
tion, if  any,  about  the  thing  to  be  described,  whereas  the 
simple  description  has  a  maximum,  and  the  comparative 
description  contains  an  indirect  picturing  of  it.  But  in  de- 
scription by  effects  we  may  say  practically  nothing  about 
the  thing  we  are  describing,  giving  all  of  our  attention 
rather  to  the  effect  of  the  object  upon  others.  We  may 
write  many  pages  about  how  we  were  affected  by  a  certain 
noise,  or  sight,  or  odor,  without  giving  anything  but  the 
mere  name  of  the  noise,  the  sight,  or  the  odor.     The  great 


282  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

beauty  of  Helen  of  Troy  was  described,  not  by  telling  the 
colors  of  her  eyes  and  hair, — these  would  have  been  petty 
details  indeed  in  dealing*  with  such  beauty, — ^but  rather  by 
telling  what  effect  her  beauty  had  upon  others.  We  our- 
selves doubtless  have  often,  in  our  account  of  some  scene 
we  have  witnessed,  dwelt  at  greater  length  upon  the  effects 
of  the  scene  upon  us  than  upon  the  actual  details  of  the 
scene  itself.  In  such  description  we  tell  how  we  feel  under 
given  conditions  or  surroundings,  and  those  to  whom  we 
are  talking  are  thus  enabled  to  get  an  accurate  idea  of 
those  conditions. 

But  in  description  by  means  of  effects  we  are  not  con- 
fined to  telling  how  we  ourselves  are  affected  by  any  par- 
ticular thing.  We  may  strengthen  the  description  by  deal- 
ing with  the  effect  of  our  subject  upon  many  others  besides 
ourselves, — upon  other  people,  upon  animals,  perhaps,  or 
upon  things.  Thus  a  certain  person  sitting  in  a  room  may 
make  the  room  seem  cold,  may  cause  the  canary  to  stop 
singing,  may  cast  a  reserve  over  everybody  and  everything. 
Perhaps  we  remember  how,  when  Godfrey  and  Dunstan 
Cass  have  their  first  quarrel  in  George  Eliot's  Silas  Mar- 
ner,  before  any  word  is  spoken  between  them,  the  pet 
dog  of  their  home  gets  up  from  his  comfortable  place, 
looks  at  both  of  them  pityingly,  and  then  leaves  the  room. 

Now,  this  same  thing  is  allowable  and  often  desirable  in 
comparative  description  as  well.  We  are  always  at  liberty 
to  multiply  the  number  of  our  comparisons  of  any  given 
subject,  and  need  not  confine  ourselves  to  any  particular 
one.  To  describe  a  house  clearly,  by  means  of  comparison, 
we  may  have  to  take  the  subject  up  in  sections,  comparing 
each  section  to  a  letter  or  a  figure,  or  something  else,  thus 
making  our  description  composite.  Again,  both  of  these 
types  of  description  may  be  presented  in  a  negative  way. 


THE    DESCRIPTIVE    PLAN  283 

We  may  accent  the  effect  a  certain  thing  has  upon  us  by- 
telling,  first,  in  what  ways  we  were  not  affected  by  it.  In 
seeing  the  ocean  for  the  first  time,  for  instance,  it  may  be 
that  we  were  impressed  not  so  much  by  the  size  of  it,  nor 
by  its  constant  roar,  nor  yet  by  its  salty  odor  and  its  soft 
damp  breezes  upon  our  cheeks.  It  may  not  have  im- 
pressed us  by  any  one  of  these  perhaps.  It  may  have  been 
the  sum  total  of  all  of  them  that  struck  us,  or  it  may  have 
been  that  the  feeling  of  insuperable  and  uncontrollable 
power  which  came  over  us  at  the  first  sight  of  the  ocean 
was  the  one  and  only  effect  that  it  had  upon  us.  In  com- 
parison also  we  may  dwell  at  length  upon  telling  what  a 
thing  is  not  like.  If,  for  instance,  we  are  describing  some- 
thing that  is  perfectly  unique,  in  and  of  itself,  we  can 
best  bring  out  that  uniqueness  by  first  enumerating  the 
many  things  that  it  is  not  like.  To  illustrate, — in  describ- 
ing a  pair  of  skis  we  may  quite  properly  commence  by 
saying  that  they  are  not  like  skates ;  that  they  are  different 
from  sleds;  that  they  are  not  quite  like  sled  runners;  that 
they  are  dissimilar  to  snow-shoes ;  that,  in  short,  they  have 
a  character  all  their  own.  And  in  all  such  cases  as  this, 
as  we  studied  in  exposition,  our  description  can  be  helped 
by  marginal  drawings. 

Furthermore,  it  may  be  helpful  and  necessary  some- 
times, especially  in  long  descriptions,  to  combine  all  of  the 
different  types  of  description  in  order  to  bring  out  lucidly 
the  complete  picture  or  series  of  pictures  which  is  to  be 
portrayed.  We  can  easily  find  examples  of  such  combina- 
tion description  in  the  short  poems  and  stories  we  have  read 
in  school.  And  of  course  the  three  methods  are  always  to 
be  found  in  combination  in  long  novels,  and  in  history. 
When  we  have  occasion  so  to  combine  them,  we  should  as 
a  rule  commence  our  writing  wath  a  simple  description  of 


284  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

the  object,  then  proceed  to  the  comparative  form,  and  con- 
clude with  description  by  effects.  This  is  the  best  pro- 
cedure because  of  the  fact  that  the  more  complex  type 
should  not  be  placed  before  the  reader  at  the  outset  of  his 
reading,  and  also  because  it  is  the  most  natural  method  of 
development. 

Now  the  planning  of  description  by  comparison  and  de- 
scription by  effects  is  the  same  in  general  as  that  of  simple- 
description.  We  follow  either  the  natural  order,  or  we 
take  the  most  striking  thing  at  the  beginning  and  group 
other  details  about  it.  If  it  is  a  comparison  we  wish  to 
draw,  we  can  make  the  general  comparison  at  once,  and 
then  follow  it  out  minutely,  as  we  did  with  the  letter  L 
a  moment  ago;  if  we  wish  to  deal  with  the  effects,  we  may 
give  the  general  effect  or  the  most  striking  one  at  first 
and  then  proceed  as  we  did  in  the  simple  description  of  the 
wheat  field.  Moreover,  we  may  describe  certain  subjects 
by  any  or  by  all  of  the  three  types  of  description,  accord- 
ing as  we  wish  to  impress  our  reader.  If  our  purpose  be 
simply  to  give  a  clear  and  truthful  picture  of  the  subject, 
we  must  proceed  by  simple  description.  If  we  wish  to 
make  a  subject  clear  to  one  who  knows  absolutely  nothing 
about  it,  we  shall  do  well  to  introduce  some  comparison 
into  our  work.  If  we  want  to  create  strong  vivid  feeling 
in  our  reader,  such  as  respect,  fear,  horror,  or  the  like,  we 
may  proceed  by  means  of  effects  with  good  reason. 

In  conclusion  let  us  examine  the  three  following  out- 
lines, all  dealing  with  the  same  subject,  but  each  represent- 
ing a  different  type  of  description  from  the  other.  We  see 
that,  using  the  same  subject,  we  may  have  more  than  one 
style  of  description  developed  from  it.  Usually  the  pur- 
pose will  tell  us  what  kind  of  description  we  are  going  to 
have,  but  the  content  should  indicate  it  as  well. 


THE    DESCRIPTIVE    PLAN  285 

THE    TRAMP 

I.     Point  of  View :   From  close  range 
II.     Purpose :  To  portray  faithfully  his  forlorn  appearance 

III.  Glance : 

1.  Height 

2.  Carriage 

3.  Clothing 

IV.  Details : 

A.  Physical  features 

1.  Head 

a.  long,  disheveled  hair 

b.  irregular  features 

c.  dirty  face 

2.  Body 

a.  stooped  shoulders 

b.  dangling  arms 

c.  sunken  chest  and  stomach 

d.  ungainly  proportions 

3.  Limbs 

a.  long  and  thin 

b.  huge,  knotted  knees 

c.  large,  uncouth  feet 

B.  Clothing 

1.  Hat  with  many  holes 

2.  Red  kerchief  on  neck 

3.  Fringed  coat,  with  only  one  arm 

4.  Trousers 

a.  held  by  string 

b.  fringed  at  bottom 

5.  Boots 

a.  badly  torn 

b.  not  mates 

c.  much  too  large 

V.     Impression :  The  most  forlorn  and  deserted  looking  crea- 
ture I  had  ever  seen 


286  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 


THE  TRAMP 


I.     Point  of  View:    From  my  window 
II.     Purpose :  To  show  his  similarity  to  a  scare-crow 

III.  Glance : 

1.  Inanimate  looking 

2.  Frightful  looking 

IV.  Details : 

1.  Standing  motionless 

2.  Disjointed  and  awkward 

3.  Hands  extended  for  alms 

4.  Old,  misfit  clothing 

5.  Deserted  and  uncouth 

6.  Forbidding  of  approach 

V.     Impression:    More   dead   than   alive;   more  like  a  poorly 
clothed  stick  than  a  man 

THE  TRAMP 

I.     Point  of  View :   From  street 
II.     Purpose :   To  show  how  alarming  he  was 

III.  Glance: 

1.  My  heart  thumping 

2.  My  hair  standing 

I  3.  My  limbs  quaking 

IV.  Details : 

1.  Pertaining  to  myself 

a.  My  entire  being  shocked 

b.  My  inability  to  run  or  speak 

c.  My  fear 

d.  My  pity 

2.  Pertaining   to    Fido 

a.  His  slinking  away 

b.  His  sidelong  glance 

c.  His  low  growl 

V.     Impression :     As  if  some  one  risen  from  the  grave  were 
standing  before  me 


THE   DESCRIPTIVE   PLAN  287 


EXERCISE 

(Remember  that  all  subjects  should  be  limited  by  Point 
of  View  and  Purpose.) 

I.     Plan  and  write  simple  descriptions  on  the  fol- 
lowing topics : — 

A  Mountain  I  Have  Seen  The  News-stand  at  the  Corner 

Our  Yard  The  Old  Spring-House 

The  Seashore  The  Railroad  Station 

The  Gymnasium  Tom  Smith,  Conductor 

Our  Classroom  The  Avenue 

XL  Plan  and  write  a  description  on  each  of  the  fol- 
lowing topics,  in  each  case  grouping  the  description  around 
some  peculiar  or  distinctive  feature : — 

The  Beggar  The  Gnarled  Oak 

My  Dog  Prince  The  Shower 

A  Peculiar  House  A  Formidable  Policeman 

Evans,  the  Night  Watchman  A  Surly  Boss 

The  Mascot  Casey,  Expert  Batsman 

III.  Plan  and  write  a  comparative  description  on 
each  of  the  following,  as  if  for  one  totally  unacquainted 
with  the  subject: — - 

An  Automobile  The  Monument 

A  Trolley  Car  My  Room 

A  Fire  Engine 

IV.  Plan  and  write  a  description  of  effects  on  each 
of  the  following : — 

The  Waterfall  The  Prison 

The  Park  in  Winter  The  Cripple 

Jack,  After  His  Fight 


288  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

V.  Plan  and  write  a  description  of  one  of  your 
classmates,  using  a  fictitious  name  for  him,  and  aiming  at 
having  it  so  true  that  the  others,  on  hearing  it  read,  can  tell 
who  is  hieant. 

VI.  Plan  and  write  a  description  of  the  scene  briefly 
sketched  below.  First,  state  the  simple  details;  then,  com- 
pare the  scene  with  something;  and  then,  tell  what  effect  it 
had  upon  you  or  upon  others. 

There  has  been  a  great  railroad  accident.  A  few  have  been 
killed,  many  injured,  and  many  badly  shocked.  Cars  are  wrecked; 
bodies  are  lying  prone;  people  are  looking  for  loved  ones;  fore- 
men and  attendants  are  busying  themselves  with  attempts  to  clear 
up  the  awful  scene. 

VII.  Plan  and  write  a  description  of  some  picture 
that  is  in  your  room,  or  of  one  that  you  have  seen  else- 
where. Try  to  follow  the  same  plan  that  you  think  the 
artist  followed  in  painting  it. 

VIII.  Plan  and  write  a  simple  description  of  each  of 
the  following: — 

The   Postman  The  Teacher 

The  Milkman  The   Shoemaker 

The  Grocer 

IX.  Imagine  each  of  the  persons  named  in  Exercise 
VIII  to  have  some  peculiarity.  Plan  a  description  center- 
ing around  this  peculiarity  in  each  case. 

X.  Plan  and  write  a  negative  description  of  some 
rare  and  wonderful  thing  or  sight  it  has  been  your  privilege 
to  see.    Make  use  of  comparison  or  of  effects,  or  of  both. 

XL  Select  good  descriptive  passages  from  your 
reading  and  outline  them.  Explain  which  type  (or  types) 
of  description  they  illustrate. 


THE    DESCRIPTIVE    PLAN  289 

XII.  Draw  up  three  plans  for  each  of  the  following 
subjects,  one  for  each  kind  of  description.  Then  select 
one  of  the  titles  and  make  a  single  descriptive  plan  for  it 
in  which  you  employ  all  three  types  to  some  degree. 

The  Huckster  The  Parade 

The  Pedlar  The  Crowd  at  the  Open-air  Con- 

The  Ocean  Liner  cert 

The  Crowded  Car 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  ARGUMENTATIVE  PLAN 

We  have  often  doubtless  disagreed  with  our  friends  in 
our  conversation  with  them.  They  have  contended  that 
certain  things  are  true;  we  have  contended  perhaps  that 
these  things  are  not  true  but  that  their  opposite  is  true. 
Thus  disagreeing,  we  have  proceeded  in  our  conversation 
until  one  of  us  was  persuaded  to  the  view  of  the  other,  or 
both  of  us  gave  up  all  hope  of  agreement.  Such  a  con- 
versation is  called  a  debate  or  an  argument.  We  are 
said  to  be  debating  or  arguing  with  our  friends  when  we 
disagree  with  them  and  try  to  win  them  over  to  our  view. 
When  we  argue  thus  about  such  casual  topics  as  come  up 
in  daily  conversation,  our  argument  is  an  informal  one. 
In  this  chapter,  however,  we  have  to  reckon  more  particu- 
larly with  formal  argument, — argument,  that  is,  that  is 
centered  around  a  definitely  set  question  with  definitely 
chosen  sides  and  debaters  assigned.  Informal  or  conver- 
sational debate  is  nevertheless  a  most  valuable  training  for 
us  and  we  should  never  fail  to  turn  a  wholesome  disagree- 
ment with  our  friends  into  an  opportunity  for  improving 
ourselves  in  this  important  form  of  discourse.  The  power 
to  win  others  over  to  our  way  of  thinking  on  the  spur  of 
the  moment,  without  any  definite  preparation,  is  admittedly 
the  most  enviable  possession  a  man  can  have.  It  can  be 
cultivated  nowhere  to  better  advantage  than  in  polite  and 
dignified  oral  controversies  with  our  fellows.     Keen  atten- 

29Q 


THE   ARGUMENTATIVE   PLAN 


291 


tion  and  interpretation,  wide  reading,  and  a  fair  attitude 
toward  others  are,  to  be  sure,  necessary  attributes  in  any 
kind  of  a  debate,  not  only  for  the  sake  of  courtesy  and 
consideration  toward  our  opponents,  but  for  our  own  suc- 
cess and  benefit  in  the  argument  as  well. 

The  title  of  a  formal  argument  is  called  the  Proposi- 
tion or  the  Question.  It  is  usually  preceded  by  the  word 
or  words,  "Resolved",  *'Be  it  resolved",  or  ''Let  it  be  re- 
solved".   A  complete  title  then  would  read  as  follows : — 

Resolved:     That   football    should   be    discontinued   in   our 
schools. 

We  observe  by  the  way,  of  course,  that  ''Resolved"  is  fol- 
lowed by  a  colon  (or  it  may  be  a  comma)  and  that  the 
first  word  in  the  proposition,  "That",  is  capitalized. 

Such  questions  as  the  one  just  used  for  illustration  lend 
themselves  to  two  lines  of  consideration ;  first,  there  will  be 
those  who  will  maintain  that  football  should  be  discon- 
tinued and  who  thus  agree  with  the  question ;  second,  there 
will  be  those  who  will  argue  that  it  should  not  be  discon- 
tinued, and  who  thus  disagree  with  the  question.  The 
first  will  argue  what  is  known  as  the  Affirmative  side ;  the 
second  will  argue  what  is  known  as  the  Negative.  The 
affirmative,  in  other  words,  agrees  with  or  affirms  the 
proposition.  The  negative  disagrees  with  or  negatives  the 
proposition  as  stated;  inserts  the  word  "not"  into  it,  and 
proceeds  to  argue  against  the  question  as  originally  framed. 
We  must  exercise  great  care  in  keeping  this  distinction 
clear.  It  may  happen,  for  instance,  that  the  question  will 
be  negatively  stated  in  its  original  form ;  thus  : — 

Resolved:     That  football  should  not  be  continued  in  our 
schools. 


292  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

This  form  of  question  is  always  somewhat  more  confusing 
than  one  in  which  the  word  "not''  is  not  used,  but  the 
rule  of  affirmative  and  negative  above  stated  is  applicable 
in  the  same  way  here.  Those  who  argue  that  football 
should  not  be  continued  are  on  the  affirmative  side  of  the 
question.  Those  who  argue  that  it  should  be  continued 
are  on  the  negative.  The  sides  remain  the  same  therefore 
as  in  debating  the  former  proposition,  but  the  different 
form  of  statement  used  makes  the  situation  a  little  more 
complicated,  a  little  more  difficult  to  understand.  The 
negative  here,  however,  as  elsewhere,  is  determined  by  the 
insertion  of  ''not''.  In  the  present  proposition  the  inser- 
tion of  this  word  will  give  us  a  double  negative,  which,  we 
know  very  well,  is  equivalent  to  a  positive  form  of  ex- 
pression. 

Resolved:     That  football  should  NOT  not-be-continued  in 
our  schools. 

We  can  always  be  sure,  therefore,  to  "find"  the  negative 
statement  by  the  use  of  "not",  however  awkwardly  it  may 
make  the  question  read.  And  for  this  purpose,  as  for  all 
others  in  this  connection,  a  clear  and  exact  understanding 
of  the  phraseology  of  the  proposition  must  always  be  had 
before  we  can  properly  proceed  with  the  debate. 

Thus  far  then  we  see  that  argument  is  somewhat  dis- 
tinct from  the  other  forms  of  composition  we  have  studied, 
in  that  it  uses  a  different  terminology  for  its  parts.  We 
have  seen  that  the  title  is  called  the  question  or  the  propo- 
sition ;  that  this  title  is  stated  in  a  certain  formal  way ;  and 
that  it  is  divisible  always  into  two  sides  or  parts,  the  affirm- 
ative and  the  negative.  There  is  another  new  and  very 
important  name  to  be  learned  in  connection  with  argument ; 
namely,  Brief,  the  name  given  to  the  plan  or  outline  of  an 


THE   ARGUMENTATIVE   PLAN 


293 


argument.  It  has  its  origin  in  a  classical  Latin  word, 
breve,  which  means  a  short  catalogue  or  summary.  In  law, 
where  it  is  most  commonly  used  in  connection  with  plan- 
ning cases,  it  means  the  summary  of  a  part  or  of  the  whole 
of  a  case.  "To  take  a  brief"  means  that  a  lawyer  ac- 
cepts the  conduct  of  a  case;  ''to  hold  a  brief'  means  that 
he  is  retained  as  counsel.  The  word  is,  moreover,  used  as 
an  infinitive  and  as  a  participle, — ''to  brief  a  case",  or 
"briefing  an  argument". 

In  drawing  up  the  brief  for  an  argument  we  are  espe- 
cially confined  to  the  formal  type  of  plan.  It  is  in  the 
brief  that  the  formal  divisions, — introduction,  discussion, 
conclusion, — come  into  their  fullest  and  best  inheritance. 
In  arguing  with  and  before  people  it  is  most  important 
clearly  to  define  the  terms  of  the  question  upon  which  the 
debate  is  based;  to  present  our  arguments  in  a  systematic 
and  forceful  way;  and  to  leave  upon  the  audience  a  last- 
ing, and,  if  possible,  convincing,  final  word.  When  a  law- 
yer has  a  case  to  argue,  he  draws  up  an  elaborate  brief  in 
which  he  makes  absolutely  certain  that  he  has  covered 
these  three  points.  His  audience  (the  jurymen)  must  first 
understand  the  question  upon  which  they  have  to  decide; 
otherwise,  no  matter  how  excellent  the  arguments  pre- 
sented or  how  appealing  and  convincing  his  final  words, 
they  can  come  to  no  fair  decision.  The  brief  for  an  argu- 
ment should  therefore  contain  the  three  formal  divisions: 
the  introduction  to  define  the  words  in  the  question  that 
need  defining,  to  state  clearly  how  and  why  the  question 
arises,  what  our  position  is  and  how  we  are  going  to  pro- 
ceed; the  discussion  to  set  forth  a  well-organized,  well- 
arranged  order  of  argument,  material  for  which  has  been 
summoned  by  previous  study  and  with  which  we  com- 
pletely surround  the  question ;  the  conclusion  or  "summing 


294  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

up''  to  review  the  strongest  arguments  presented  and  to 
appeal  emphatically  for  favorable  decision  on  the  ground 
of  their  irrefutability. 

In  the  proportion  of  these  parts  it  is  clear  that,  as 
usual,  the  bulk  of  our  brief  will  be  taken  up  with  the  dis- 
cussion, and  it  is  well  that  we  should  study  carefully  how 
to  order  an  array  of  arguments  after  we  have  all  the  ma- 
terial for  them  in  our  hands.  At  the  outset  of  our  discus- 
sion we  should  always  place  an  argument  or  two  of  a  strik- 
ing nature  with  which  to  catch  and  ''clinch"  the  attention 
of  the  audience  and  to  startle  our  opponents.  Such  an 
argument  is  sometimes  called  a  *'snap"  argument,  or  an 
argument  of  impression.  It  should  always  be  brief,  but 
decidedly  to  the  point.  We  have  seen  in  our  study  of  Em- 
phasis that  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  a  piece  of  writing 
are  the  emphatic  portions  of  it.  This  holds  never  more 
strictly  than  in  the  discussion  of  an  argumentative  brief. 
We  open  therefore  with  a  short,  terse,  striking  argument. 
In  the  middle  of  our  discussion  we  present  all  those  argu- 
ments of  conditions  and  circumstances  touching  upon  the 
question  which  cannot  be  omitted  from  any  complete  con- 
sideration of  it,  yet  which  are  not  all  of  first  importance. 
These  should  be  arranged  from  the  least  to  the  most  valu- 
able. After  we  have  fully  surrounded  our  subject,  after 
we  have  touched  upon  every  phase  or  manifestation  of  it, 
we  proceed  to  conclude  our  discussion  with  the  strongest 
arguments  in  our  possession.  These  important  final  argu- 
ments are  those  from  authority  and  experience.  They  are 
considered  the  two  most  irrefutable  types  of  argument  a 
debater  can  present.  He  may  here  substantiate  his  position 
and  all  he  has  said  in  support  of  it  by  quoting  from  some 
recognized  authority  who  is  in  accord  with  his  view.  The 
quotation  of  statistics  in  proof  is  also  a  weighty  argument 


THE   ARGUMENTATIVE    PLAN  295 

from  authority,  if  we  are  dealing  with  a  question  to  which 
statistics  can  be  appHed.  We  may  also  deduce  an  argument 
of  equal  strength  from  our  own  experience  or  from  the  ex- 
perience of  those  who  have  successfully  put  into  operation 
the  thing  for  which  we  are  contending  in  the  debate.  If  we 
ourselves  have  seen  or  experienced  anything  that  directly 
corroborates  our  view  of  the  proposition,  we  may  cite  it  of 
course  as  irrefutable.  Generally  considered  then,  the 
skeleton  or  brief  for  an  argument  should  be  developed 
along  the  following  lines : — 

Resolved:     That   ....    (state  the  question) 

I.     Introduction 

1.  Source  of  question 

2.  Importance  of  question 

3.  Definition  of  terms 

4.  Selection  and  rejection  of  material  according  to 

side  or  position 

5.  If  more  than  one  debater,  explanation  of  divi- 

sion of  material  or  order  of  argument 

II.     Discussion 

1.  Arguments  of  impression 

a.  First  "snap"  argument 

b.  Second  "snap"  argument 

2.  Arguments  of  condition  and  circumstance 

a.  First  argument 

b.  Second  argument 

c.  Third  argument 

d.  Fourth  argument 

etc. 

3.  Arguments  of  emphasis 

a.  Argument  from  authority 

b.  Argument  from  experience 

III.     Conclusion 

1.  Summary  of  argument 

2.  Conviction  and  appeal 


296  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

There  are  two  kinds  of  debate, — single  debate  and  team 
debate.  By  single  debate  we  mean  a  formal  debate  be- 
tween not  more  than  two  people,  representing  respectively 
negative  and  affirmative  sides  of  the  question.  Each  de- 
bater, consequently,  in  a  single  debate,  is  obliged  to  handle 
all  the  arguments  for  his  side  of  the  question.  The  plan 
for  both  negative  and  affirmative  should  follow  that  pre- 
sented above.  The  whole  argument  of  either  side  being 
in  one  person's  hands,  he  is  at  liberty  to  arrange  his  points 
in  the  order  in  which  he  thinks  he  can  make  them  most 
effective.  In  the  actual  presentation  of  the  argumentative 
speech  before  an  audience  the  affirmative  speaker  always 
precedes  the  negative.  It  is  possible  therefore  that  the 
second,  or  negative,  speaker  may,  after  he  has  heard  the 
arguments  of  his  opponent,  have  to  rearrange  his  plan 
somewhat  and  thus  violate  the  order  estabHshed  above,  in 
order  to  meet  new  situations  with  which  the  affirmative 
speaker  has  confronted  or  surprised  him.  Of  course  a  well- 
prepared  debater  will  have  foreseen  all  possible  surprises  in 
his  preparation,  and  will  not  therefore  be  embarrassed  by 
being  obliged  to  reform  his  line  of  battle  after  the  firing 
has  begun.  And  it  must  not  be  assumed  that,  because  the 
first,  or  affirmative,  speaker  has  defined  the  question  and 
given  points  as  to  its  source  and  importance,  the  negative 
speaker  may  omit  the  introduction  from  his  argument.  He 
needs  to  define  the  terms  of  the  question  as  he,  the  negative 
speaker,  sees  them;  he  needs  to  discuss  the  source  and  im- 
portance of  the  proposition  from  the  negative  point  of  view. 
The  two  introductions  may  be  similar  in  many  or  most  re- 
spects ;  on  the  other  hand,  they  may  be  significantly  different 
and  the  real  argument  may  need  to  begin  at  the  very  first 
point  in  the  introduction.  The  decision  of  a  great  public 
debate  once  hinged  almost  entirely  upon  the  definition  of 


THE   ARGUMENTATIVE    PLAN  ^97 

the  word  ''adjacent"  in  its  relation  to  the  idea  intended  by 
the  question. 

A  single  debate,  then,  is  bred  of  the  conversational  de- 
bate of  which  we  read  at  the  opening  of  the  present  chap- 
ter, the  only  difference  between  the  two  being,  that,  in- 
stead of  informal  and  unsystematized  conversation  in  con- 
versational debate,  we  have  in  single  debate  a  formally 
stated  question,  an  ordered  array  of  argument,  and  an  alter- 
nate, uninterrupted  presentation  of  arguments  for  either 
side. 

By  team  argument  we  mean  an  argument  in  which 
four  or  more  debaters  participate,  two  or  more  on  the 
affirmative,  and  two  or  more  on  the  negative.  Here  again 
the  same  plan  or  outline  of  material  is  followed.  But  a 
difficulty  arises,  perhaps,  from  the  number  of  speakers. 
Usually  one  man  is  designated  as  the  leader  or  ''captain'' 
of  his  team  and  he  partitions  or  divides  the  arguments  as- 
sembled into  as  many  groups  as  there  are  speakers  on  his 
side,  and  assigns  a  speaker  to  each  group.  The  best 
speaker,  taking  it  for  granted  that  the  speakers  are  of 
unequal  ability,  is  usually  assigned  the  last  and  most 
effective  arguments,  the  last  part  of  the  debate  being,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  most  emphatic  part.  If  there  be  three 
debaters  on  the  team,  then  a  good  speaker  is  also  placed 
first  on  the  program,  this  being  another  important  place 
from  the  point  of  view  of  emphasis.  The  poorest  speaker 
of  the  three  should  be  assigned  to  the  middle  portion  of 
the  discussion,  though  it  is  hoped  that  in  any  debate  in 
which  we  may  have  the  pleasure  of  participating  the  speak- 
ers will  be  of  almost  equal  ability  so  that  this  embarrassing 
matter  of  assignment  according  to  ability  will  not  arise. 
The  actual  apportionment  is  left  entirely  in  the  hands  of 
the  captain,  who  usually  calls  in  the  advice  of  the  "coach" 


298  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

or  instructor.  He  will  always  try  to  assign  the  parts  of 
the  argument  equally  in  regard  to  time  and  material,  all 
speakers  being  given  equal  periods  of  time  in  which  to 
present  their  arguments.  In  the  case  of  there  being  three 
men  on  the  team,  the  first  speaker  may  be  assigned  the 
introduction  and  the  arguments  of  impression;  the  second, 
the  arguments  of  conditions  and  circumstances;  and  the 
third,  the  arguments  of  emphasis  and  the  conclusion.  This 
arrangement  presupposes  of  course  that  the  three  portions 
of  the  debate  indicated  are  of  about  the  same  length. 
In  case  there  are  two  or  four  men  on  the  team,  the  parti- 
tion should  be  made  in  similarly  equal  divisions  and  the 
assignments  made  accordingly. 

The  questions  for  single  debate  should  of  course  be 
much  simpler  in  form  and  narrower  in  possible  scope  than 
the  questions  for  team  debate.  In  the  former,  where  only 
two  people  are  pitted  against  each  other,  it  would  be  re- 
quiring too  much  of  the  debaters  to  assign  to  them  a  broad, 
complex  question.  Moreover,  it  would  be  monotonous,  not 
only  for  them  but  for  the  audience  to  which  they  speak, 
if  they  undertook  to  handle  all  the  arguments  of  a  large, 
comprehensive  question.  There  are  cases  on  record  where 
a  debater  has  been  obliged  to  talk  all  day  in  order  to 
exhaust  his  side  of  a  proposition  or  case.  This  has  some- 
times been  the  case  in  a  lawyer's  arguing  before  a  jury, 
but  it  invariably  happens  that  the  lawyer  has  a  number  of 
silent  assistants, — other  lawyers,  that  is,  who  do  his  brief- 
ing in  sections  and  watch  closely  all  the  details  of  the  oppo- 
sing proceedings.  But  in  our  work,  which  is  not  yet  so  am- 
bitious in  scope,  we  must  select  such  questions  as  the  fol- 
lowing for  single  debate-: — 

Resolved:     That  the   study  of  algebra  is  more   important 
than  that  of  English. 


THE   ARGUMENTATIVE   PLAN  299 

Resolved:     That  our  school  periods  should  be  sixty  rather 
than  forty  minutes  in  length. 

Resolved:     That  tv^o  meals  a  day  are  all  that  are  neces- 
sary for  the  average  human  being, 
etc. 

We  see  at  once  that  these  questions  are  sufficiently  simple 
to  be  covered  completely  by  a  single  debater  on  each  side, 
and  yet  not  oblige  him  to  speak  at  undue  length.  Their 
scope,  in  other  words,  is  comparatively  narrow^  by  the  side 
of  such  questions  as  these : 

Resolved :     That  w^omen  should  be  granted  the  suffrage. 
Resolved:     That  our  course  of  study  needs  modification. 
Resolved:     That  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  should  be 
prohibited. 

etc. 

We  are  at  once  impressed  with  the  fact  that  these  questions 
will  probably  be  much  more  ably  handled  by  at  least  two 
debaters  on  each  side.  Their  scope  is  broader;  they  are 
vastly  more  general  in  their  nature. 

The  following  question  and  brief  for  the  negative  show 
us  that  the  possibilities  of  the  question  are  quite  within  the 
range  of  a  single  debater : 

BRIEF   FOR   NEGATIVE 

Resolved:    That  Our  School  Day^  Which  now  Closes 
AT  2.30,  Should  Be  Extended  to  4  O'clock. 

I.  Introduction 

A.  Source  of  question 
I.  Agitation  as  to 

a.  per  cent,  of  failure 

b.  expenditures 

c.  unused  buildings 


300  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

B.  Importance  of  question 

1.  to  parents 

2.  to  teachers 

3.  to  pupils 

C.  Definition  and  explanation  of  terms 

1.  "School  day" 

2.  "Closes'^ 

3.  "Intermission" 

4.  "Vacant"  and  "class  periods" 

II.  Discussion 

A.  Argument  of  impression 

I.  Achievements  of  schools  under  present  plan 
a. 
b. 
c. 
d. 
e. 

B.  Arguments  of  condition  and  circumstance 

1.  Opportunity  offered  now  for  outside  work 

a. 
b. 

c- 

2.  Health  of  pupils  and  teachers 

a. 
b. 
c 
d. 

3.  Fatigue  resulting  from  prolonged  enclosure  in- 

doors 
a. 
b. 
c. 

C.  Arguments  of  emphasis 

I.  Authorities  in   hygiene  say  that  five  hour  day 
is  best 
a. 
b. 
c. 
d. 


THE   ARGUMENTATIVE    PLAN  301 

2.  Citation  of  indifferent  and  detrimental  results 
in  schools  where  the  experiment  has 
been  tried,  and  comparison  with  our  own 
school 

a. 

b. 

c. 

d. 

III.  Conclusion 

A.  Summary 

1.  It  has  proved  no  better  where  tried 

2.  It  deprives  of  opportunity  to  earn  money 

3.  It  imperils  health 

4.  The  best  authorities  oppose  it 

5.  In  many. cases  it  has   failed 

B.  Therefore,   it   is   our   strong   belief,    as    it   must   also 

now  be  yours,  that  an  extension  of  school  hours 
from  2.30  to  4  o'clock  would  be  a  decidedly  bad 
innovation 

But  the  material  for  the  following  question  is  so  abun- 
dant, and  the  question  itself  of  such  wide  importance  that 
there  should  be  at  least  two  men  to  argue  each  side : — 

AFFIRMATIVE 

Resolved:    That  Capital  Punishment  Should  Be  Abol- 
ished. 

I.  Introduction: 

A.  Source  of  question. 

B.  Importance   of   question. 

C.  Definition  of  terms : — 

1.  "Capital  punishment." 

a.  Kinds. 

b.  Status. 

2.  "Abolished.^* 

D.  Our  position. 

E.  Division  of  material. 


302  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

II.  Discussion: 

A.  Punishment  should  always  be  remedial,  but 

1.  Capital    punishment   says,   "Abandon   hope", 

2.  Dead  man  cannot  be  reformed, 

3.  Society's  failure  is  writ  large. 

B.  Capital  punishment  is 

1.  Not  protective  and  preventive, 

a.  As  many  murders  now  as  ever ; 

2.  Not  retributive, 

a.  Retribution  a  survival  of  savagery, 

b.  "An  eye  for  an  eye"  not  good  morality, 

c.  State  vengeance  but  little  better  than  per- 

sonal vengeance; 

3.  Not  deterrent, 

a.  Formerly   the   death  penalty   was  paid   for 

many  other  crimes, 

b.  Those  crimes  have  not  increased  as  a  result 

of    discontinuance     of    capital    punish- 
ment, 

c.  Its  abolition  has  been  deterrent  probably; 

4.  But  debasing 

a.  To  society, 

b.  To  individuals, 

c.  Particularly  to  young. 

C.  Responsibility  of  society, 

1.  To  all  its  members, 

2.  At  all  times, 

3.  In  spite  of  repeated  failures. 

D.  The  abolition  of  capital  punishment, 

I.  Its  effect, 

a.  Might  increase  murder  for  a  time,  but 

b.  Would  lessen  it  in   the  long  run    (see   II. 

c.  3). 

c.  For  it  would  increase  respect  for  life. 

E.  The  horror  of  mistakes, 

1.  No  remedy   or  recompense  possible, 

2.  One  mistake  only  should  be  sufficient  to  cause 

abolition. 


THE   ARGUMENTATIVE   PLAN  303 

F.  Moral  sentiment  rising, 

1.  Becoming  more  difficult  to  convict, 

2.  Frequent  public  protests, 

3.  The  question  of  hanging  women, 

4.  The  appeals  for  pardons, 

5.  The   ethical   consciousness    of    communities   as- 

serting itself. 

G.  Great  principle  of  the  sanctity  of  life, 

1.  Of  the  criminal's  life  as  well, 

2.  Great  dangers  in  all  progress, 

3.  If  society  would  perfect  herself,  she  must  risk 

abolishing  capital  punishment, 

4.  God's  law — "Thou  shalt  not  kill" — is   also  vio- 

lated by  the  gallows, 

5.  Capital  punishment  is  thus  a  crime  against  God. 

H.  Authorities  and  experience, 

1.  Great  humanitarians, — 

a.  All  oppose  capital  punishment, 

2.  Its  abolition  is  making  for  good  wherever  it  has 

taken  place, — 

a.  Statistics, 

b.  The  case  of  Italy. 

III.  Conclusion: 

A.  We  have  proved  that 

1.  Capital  punishment  is  not  remedial, 

2.  It  is  not  protective,  preventive,  retributive,  de- 

terrent, but  debasing, 

3.  It  is  the  duty  of  society  to  help  all  its  members, 

4.  The  abolition  of  capital  punishment  would  make 

for  good, 

5.  Frequent   mistakes    have    awakened    the    ethical 

consciousness  of  communities,  and 

6.  People  are  coming  to  see  not  only  the  futility, 

but  also  the  injustice  of  it, 

7.  It  constitutes   a  crime   itself   not  alone  against 

man,  but  against  God, 

8.  The  moving  spirits  of  all  times  have  opposed  it, 

and  its  abolition  has  made  for  good. 


304  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

B.  Therefore,  in  view  of  these  irrefutable  arguments,  we 
maintain  that  capital  punishment  should  be  abol- 
ished. 


NEGATIVE  * 

Resolved:    That    Capital    Punishment    Should   Not    Be 
Abolished. 
I.  Introduction 

A.  Source  of  the  question 

B.  Importance  of  the  question 

C.  Definition  of  terms 

1.  "Capital  punishment" 

a.  Kinds 

b.  Status 

2.  "Abolished" 

D.  Our  position 

E.  Division  of  material 

II.     Discussion 

A.  Sanctity  of  life 

1.  "Thou  shalt  not  kill" 

2.  Killing  that  is  not  murder 

a.  Self-defence 

b.  War 

c.  Legal  execution 

B.  Philosophy  of  the  punishment 

1.  It  is  protective 

2.  It  is  preventive, 

3.  It  is  retributive 

4.  It  is  deterrent 

C.  Capital  punishment  best  punishment  for  murderers 

1.  Confinement  expensive 

2.  Reform  unlikely 

3.  Liberation  dangerous 

4.  Their  lives  and  examples  debasing 

*  The  pupil  will  note  that  one  brief    is    punctuated    fully    while    the 
other  is  unpunctuated.     (See  page  28.) 


THE   ARGUMENTATIVE   PLAN  305 

D.  Shall  sentimentality  decide 

1.  Shall  we  shirk  duty  because  unpleasant 

2.  Is  not  all  real  discipline  hard 

3.  Shall  we  allow  the  publicity  that  has  been  given 

an  occasional  mistake  to  influence  us 

E.  Reason  demands  capital  punishment 

1.  It  is  needed  for  safety  of  society 

2.  The  victim's  soul  cries  out  for  vindication 

3.  Justice  utters  her  decree 

F.  Experiments    in   other   methods    of   punishment   show 

necessity  for  it 
I.  Statistics 

a.  From  states  where  it  is  abolished 

b.  From  states  where  it  is  in  vogue 

c.  Comparison 

III.     Conclusion 

A.  We  have  shown  that 

1.  The  sanctity  of  life  demands  capital  punishment 

2.  It  is  justified  by  its  effects 

3.  Murderers  are  a  menace  to  society 

4.  Only  sentimentality  advocates  its  discontinuance 

5.  Reason  and  experience  have  proved  the  necessity 

for  it 

B.  Therefore    in    the    light    of    the    overwhelming   argu- 

ments we  believe  that  capital  punishment  should  not 
be  abolished 


The  discussion  here  has  not  been  divided  into  its  three 
divisions  as  defined  above,  only  because  it  would  have  ne- 
cessitated another  degree  of  subordination  in  a  brief  that 
was  already  sufficiently  subordinated.  The  character  of 
the  various  arguments  is  such,  however,  that,  as  will  be  seen, 
they  fall  naturally  into  these  divisions. 

After  the  first  speeches  on  both  sides  of  a  debate  have 
been  made,  there  is  always  opportunity  given  to  each  side 
to  refute  certain  arguments  that  have  been  presented  by  the 


3o6  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

other.  These  after-arguments  are  called  the  Refutation  or 
the  Rebuttal.  In  the  case  of  a  team  debate,  usually  only 
one  man  is  allowed  to  speak  in  rebuttal.  Which  one  this  is 
to  be  is  a  matter  to  be  settled  among  the  debaters  them- 
selves, though  usually  the  rebuttal  is  made  by  the  captain  of 
the  team.  But  a  good  speaker  is  naturally  more  than  ever 
necessary  at  this  point  of  the  debate.  It  is  customary  for 
the  debaters  on  one  team  to  be  permitted  to  confer  v^ith  one 
another  v^hile  those  of  the  opposite  side  are  speaking.  This 
being  the  case,  points  for  rebuttal  can  be  gathered  by  all, 
though  the  presentation  of  them  devolves  upon  but  one. 
Now,  the  better  the  arguments  have  been  prepared,  the  more 
untiring  and  exhaustive  the  members  of  the  teams  have  been 
in  gathering  material  and  covering  the  field,  the  less  need 
will  there  be  for  a  refutation,  the  less  opportunity  will  there 
be  given  for  it.  Every  good  debater  will  strive  to  foresee 
all  the  arguments  of  the  opposite  side.  Just  in  so  far  as  he 
is  able  thus  to  anticipate  his  opponents'  line  and  substance 
of  reasoning,  will  he  be  relieved  of  the  difficulties  of  refuta- 
tion. No  one  is  qualified  to  argue  well  on  the  affirmative 
of  a  question  until  he  has  thoroughly  acquainted  himself 
with  the  arguments  of  the  negative  side.  This  may  seem 
paradoxical,  but  after  we  have  participated  in  several  de- 
bates we  will  perhaps  better  understand  its  truth.  Expert 
knowledge  of  both  sides  of  the  argument  plus  strong  con- 
viction for  the  one  argued,  usually  equals  success  in  de- 
bating. 

But  it  is  rare  indeed  that  our  foresight  can  be  so  suc- 
cessful as  to  make  refutation  unnecessary.  Usually  we 
shall  find  that  we  have  failed  to  foresee  everything,  espe- 
cially in  a  complex  question,  or  that  the  opposing  de- 
baters have  made  misstatements,  have  lacked  accurate  in- 
formation, or  have  misunderstood  or  misinterpreted  our 


THE   ARGUMENTATIVE   PLAN  307 

own  arguments.  Such  faults  as  these  we  must  of  course 
deal  with  in  our  rebuttal.  And  this  rebuttal  will  in  very 
large  measure  have  to  be  extemporaneous,  except  in  so 
far  as  notes  have  been  made  during  the  course  of  the  de- 
bate, which  may  be  used  for  guidance.  The  order  of  the 
reply  should  be  arranged  along  the  same  general  lines  as 
that  of  the  discussion;  that  is,  we  should  proceed  from  the 
less  to  the  more  emphatic,  bearing  in  mind  here,  as  we  did 
in  our  discussion,  that  our  opening  words  in  rebuttal  should 
be  striking,  but  tactful  and  winning.  Never,  however,  must 
we  resort  to  cruelty  or  insult  in  our  remarks,  no  matter 
how  much  we  may  be  tempted  to  do  so  or  how  inviting  an 
opportunity  we  may  seem  to  have.  Debaters  frequently 
make  this  very  serious  mistake  and,  as  a  result,  quite  justly 
lose  a  great  deal  by  it.  Our  plan  for  rebuttal,  then,  should 
deal  with  the  points  above  enumerated  in  the  following 
order : — 

1.  Misstatements  and  misinterpretations 

2.  Omissions 

3.  Misinformation  or  lack  of  information 

4.  Reference   to   our   own   formal   summary,   as   yet   un- 

refuted 

Point  4  is  in  most  cases  a  matter  of  repetition.  If,  how- 
ever, our  opponents  have  given  us  little  to  refute,  we  can, 
if  we  are  alert  to  the  situation  thus  created,  make  an  ex- 
cellent point  of  rebuttal  by  reminding  the  audience  that 
such  is  the  case,  and  that  our  opponents  have  left  nothing 
for  us  to  do  but  to  reinforce  our  previous  arguments  which 
they  have  left  unanswered.  The  point  of  courtesy  will 
serve  to  particular  advantage  here.  We  have  often  doubt- 
less been  embarrassed  for  a  speaker  (though  he  himself 
has  not  been)  on  hearing  him  hurl  epithets  of  sarcasm 
at  his  opponents  in  rebuttal.     This,  we  must  again  insist, 


3o8  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

should  never  be  allowed.  Politeness  and  courtesy  toward 
an  opponent  will  always  impress  an  audience  much  more 
favorably  than  rudeness  of  ever  so  slight  a  quality.  There 
is  no  objection  to  wholesome  fun  and  humor;  no  objec- 
tion to  turning  an  opponent's  argument  gently  into  an  ab- 
surdity, if  it  can  be  done;  but  we  must  be  careful  always 
to  differentiate  between  ''making  fun  of"  and  ''fun 
making". 

We  have  learned  already  (Chapter  XI)  that  the  four 
types  of  composition  may  be  intermixed,  that  indeed  no 
one  of  them  often,  if  ever,  occurs  alone.  Argument  would 
seem  to  be  the  clearing  house  of  the  four,  for  here  we 
find  them  working  together  much  more  frequently  than 
elsewhere.  A  debate  is  a  composite  form  of  composition 
in  which  exposition,  narration,  and  description  all  con- 
spire, along  with  argument,  to  make  a  point,  to  establish 
a  proof,  to  undo  an  opponent.  Our  introductions,  as  we 
have  seen  from  the  plans  presented,  are  almost  entirely 
exposition.  In  our  discussion  we  are  at  liberty  to  call 
any  form  of  composition  into  play  to  substantiate  our  con- 
tentions,— we  may  paint  a  word-picture  that  will  impress 
or  elucidate;  we  may  tell  a  story  or  use  a  parable  directly 
parallel  with  the  phase  of  the  question  we  are  dealing  with, 
that  will  be  irrefutably  convincing;  we  may  explain  a  situa- 
tion with  a  clarity  that  must  place  vividly  before  every  one 
some  unforgettable  plan  or  operation.  All  of  these  things 
we  may  do,  and  yet  have  the  result,  the  sum  total,  form 
a  unified  and  systematic  argument.  The  last  points  in  the 
discussion  and  all  of  those  in  the  conclusion  should — 
usually  unconsciously  will — consist  of  pure,  abstract  ar- 
gument. But  we  can  likewise  conceive  of  a  debate  w^hich 
will  consist  of  genuine  argument  everywhere  else,  though 
this  of  course  would  be  somewhat  exceptional.     Perhaps 


THE   ARGUMENTATIVE   PLAN  309 

we  cannot  do  better  in  this  connection  than  to  turn  to 
Chapter  XI  and  re-read  what  was  there  said  about  the 
method  of  a  lawyer  in  preparing  his  argument  in  a  certain 
case. 

We  have  been  studying  argument  all  along  very  much 
as  if  it  were  a  form  of  oral  composition  only,  and,  taking 
the  brief  out  of  the  question,  this  is  largely  true.  We  read 
exposition,  narration,  and  description,  but  we  hear  argu- 
ment. In  other  words  argument  is  a  more  live,  oral  and 
active  form  of  composition  than  any  of  the  others.  We 
should  not  however  consider  this  an  excuse  for  not  writing 
out  our  arguments.  After  we  have  drawn  up  our  briefs, 
we  should  proceed  just  as  we  did  in  the  other  forms  of 
written  work.  It  is,  as  we  have  already  found,  the  best 
possible  exercise  to  follow  an  outline  in  writing,  after  we 
have  carefully  organized  the  material.  But  as  a  rule,  if 
we  are  writing  argument  for  delivery  before  an  audience, 
it  should  be  written  out  in  detail  and  memorized.  After 
we  have  acquired  some  ability  in  speaking  we  may  omit 
the  writing  altogether  and  make  our  argumentative  speech 
from  the  brief  alone.  In  such  cases,  where  the  argument 
is  not  written  out  but  where  the  speaker  depends  entirely 
upon  his  brief,  the  brief  should  be  as  detailed,  as  highly 
subordinated,  as  possible.  Briefs  for  legal  cases  are  fre- 
quently of  great  length,  but  seldom  are  the  arguments 
written  out,  the  detailed  subdivision  in  the  brief  taking  the 
place  of  the  solid  writing. 

Great  danger  attends  upon  extemporizing  too  freely  in 
debate.  Nowhere  is  greater  deliberation  or  closer  prepara- 
tion necessary  than  here,  where  eyery  word  spoken  counts 
for  so  much  by  way  of  loss  or  gain  in  its  results.  Yet 
unfortunately  nothing  is  more  common  than  extempore 
debate  among  those  who  have  little  or  no  training  in  it. 


310  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

Extemporaneous  speaking  is  a  most  valuable  exercise,  but, 
as  we  have  learned  (Chapter  X),  it  should  be  commenced 
with  some  of  the  other  forms  of  composition.  Slovenly 
expressions  very  easily  creep  into  our  English  in  all  kinds 
of  extemporaneous  speaking,  but  nowhere  more  easily  than 
in  debate.  Such  expressions  as  "Now  to  my  first  point", 
"As  my  colleague  has  shown",  etc.,  while  not  absolutely 
wrong  in  themselves,  are  nevertheless  bad  and  hackneyed 
when  used  to  excess,  as  they  are  often  apt  to  be  in  unpre- 
pared debate. 

The  various  types  of  plan  may  likewise  be  combined  in 
argumentative  briefs.  We  may  use  the  topical,  the 
phrasal,  the  clausal,  or  the  sentence  form  of  plan.  And 
we  may  use  any  two  or  more  of  these  in  combination. 
This  must  not  mean,  however,  that  a  confused  form  of 
plan  for  our  argument  is  to  result.  On  the  other  hand 
we  can  have  and  should  have  the  most  consistent  uniform- 
ity in  the  midst  of  this  variety.  But  argument,  having 
weighty  decision  dependent  upon  it,  should  have  the  privi- 
lege of  employing  those  different  forms  of  plan  in  its 
development  that  may  be  made  the  most  effective.  In 
our  introduction  it  may  be  necessary  to  have  only  topics, — 
the  words  that  have  been  indicated  above.  In  other  cases 
however  it  may  be  necessary  not  only  to  write  the  words, — 
"Definition  of  terms" — ^but  to  write  out  in  the  brief  the 
actual  definition.  In  the  discussion,  again,  we  may  use 
any  one  of  these  forms  of  plan.  It  is  somewhat  common 
in  this  part  of  our  brief  to  combine  the  sentence  and 
clausal  forms,  as  we  have  done  in  our  briefs  on  capital 
punishment,  thus : — 

I.  This  is  a  serious  wrong,  because 

a.  it  does  this 

b.  it  does  that 
or. 


THE   ARGUMENTATIVE   PLAN  311 

2.  Because  this  is  allowed,  we  have 

a.  poverty 

b.  oppression 

or,  to  use  the  phrasal  continuation,  as : — 

I.  In  the  case  of 

a.  factories 

b.  stores 

c.  offices 

In  the  summary  it  is  best  to  state  our  conclusions  in 
the  form  of  perfect  sentences,  in  order  thus  to  make  our 
final  words  quite  clear  to  the  minds  of  our  listeners.  But, 
whatever  form  of  expression  we  may  select,  we  should  see 
to  it  that  all  those  topics  coming  under  the  same  subdivision 
are  kept  uniform.  In  our  summing  up  we  should  not  state 
some  of  our  proofs  in  sentence  form,  and  some  in  phrasal, 
but  all  should  be  stated  declaratively  and  completely,  and 
the  concluding  sentence  should  in  addition  bear  an  indica- 
tion, by  means  of  such  a  word  as  ''therefore",  that  it  is  the 
final  deduction  of  all  that  has  gone  before.  Of  course  our 
summary  or  conclusion  is  but  a  restatement  of  our  former 
arguments  in  a  somewhat  condensed  form.  But  here  the 
accentuation,  clarity  and  convincingness  are  more  particu- 
larly necessary  and  valuable  than  anywhere  else  in  the 
whole  argument,  though  of  course  important  everywhere; 
and  we  are  justified  in  selecting,  as  indeed  we  are  through- 
out our  plan,  those  vehicles  of  outline  expression  which 
best  procure  these  qualities  for  us,  so  long  as  we  do  so  con- 
sistently. 

EXERCISE 

I.  Compose  ten  questions  for  single  argument  and 
draw  up  the  briefs,  either  affirmative  or  negative,  for  at 
least  two  of  them. 


312  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

IT.  Compose  ten  questions  for  team  argument  and 
draw  up  briefs,  either  affirmative  or  negative,  for  at  least 
two  of  them,  indicating  the  apportionment  of  parts. 

III.  Draw  up  affirmative  or  negative  briefs  for  the 
following  questions  for  single  argument : — 

Resolved:     That  our  high  school  course  is  impractical. 
Resolved:     That  our  schools  should  remain  open  all  summer. 
Resolved:     That  Sunday  baseball  should  be  prohibited. 
Resolved:     That   the  capital  of  the   United   States   should  be 

nearer  to  the  center  of  the  country. 
Resolved:     That  yellow  journalism  should  be  suppressed. 

IV.  Draw  up  affirmative  or  negative  briefs  for  the 
following  questions  for  team  argument, — 

Resolved:     That  church  property  should  be  taxed. 

Resolved:  That  v^omen,  in  v^hatever  line  of  v^ork,  should  re- 
ceive the  same  salary  as  men  holding  similar  posi- 
tions. 

Resolved:  That  government  by  commission  should  be  estab- 
lished in  all  large  American  cities. 

Resolved:     That  large  fortunes  should  be  taxed  by  the  state. 

Resolved:  That  the  House  of  Governors  should  be  made  a 
permanent  legislative  body. 

V.  Outline  a  rebuttal  for  each  of  the  briefs  pre- 
pared in  answer  to  Exercise  IV. 

VI.  Draw  up  a  brief,  affirmative  or  negative,  for  the 
following  question.  Introduce  much  narrative  and  de- 
scription into  it,  and  indicate  them  by  means  of  changed 
form  of  outline: — 

Resolved:  That  motormen  and  chauffeurs  be  obliged  to  bear 
the  expense  of  caring  for  victims  injured  or  killed 
by  cars  they  are  running. 


THE   ARGUMENTATIVE    PLAN  313 

VII.  Draw  up  a  brief,  afifirmative  or  negative,  for  a 
single  argument  on  the  following  question.  Use  as  many 
different  forms  of  plan  as  you  can,  consistently  and  ef- 
fectively : — 

Resolved:     That  theaters  should  be  open  on  Sundays. 

VIII.  Plan  and  write  both  the  affirmative  and  the 
negative  rebuttal  for  the  argument  on  capital  punishment 
(page  301). 

Complete  the  brief  presented  on  "Resolved:  That  the 
school  day,  which  now  closes  at  2.30,  be  extended  to  4 
o'clock.'' 

IX.  Make  both  affirmative  and  negative  briefs  for  a 
team  argument  on  the  following  question.  Indicate  the 
partition  or  assignment  of  arguments : 

Resolved :     That  boys  be  allowed  to  decide  for  themselves  what 
profession  or  business  they  will  enter. 

X.     Make  a  formal  study  plan  of  the  chapter  on  The 
Argumentative  Plan. 

XI.  Draw  up  a  brief,  affirmative  or  negative,  for  a 
single  argument  on  the  following  question.  Add  also  a 
rebuttal  for  offsetting  the  arguments  which  you  anticipate 
your  opponent  will  present: — 

Resolved:     That  planning  our  written  work  carefully  before 
writing  it  is  a  good  thing. 

XII.  Draw  up  briefs,  either  axffirmative  or  negative, 
for  the  illustrative  questions  on  page  299. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
THE  DRAMATIC  PLAN 

There  are  three  methods  by  which  we  may  record  the 
words  of  others  in  our  oral  or  written  composition.  We 
may  re  frame  them  into  our  own  phraseology,  as : — 

John  said,  that  he  would  not  go  when  Bill  asked  him  to  join 
the  party, 

and  thus  express  them  by  means  of  simple  or  indirect  dis- 
course. Or  we  may  state  the  actual  words  and  construc- 
tion of  the  speaker,  as: — 

John  said,  "I  will  not  go,"  when  Bill  asked  him  to  join  the 
party, 

and  thus  use  the  conversational  or  direct  discourse.  Or 
again,  we  may  state  the  actual  words  of  all  speakers  with 
their  names  attached,  in  alternation,  thus : — 

Bill:       Will  you  go  with  our  party,  John? 
John :     I  will  not  go.  ' 

and  make  use  of  the  dramatic  or  dialogue  method. 

These  three  methods,  then — the  simple  or  indirect,  the 
conversational  or  direct,  the  dramatic  or  dialogue — may 
be  used  in  placing  the  words  of  others  before  an  audience. 
They  vary  in  importance  with  the  occasion  and  the  form 
of  composition. 

314 


THE   DRAMATIC    PLAN  315 


INDIRECT    DISCOURSE 

Usually  the  first  method  will  be  found  easiest  and  most 
natural.  To  put  the  thoughts  and  expressions  of  others 
into  our  own  words  is  very  much  the  same  as  fitting  a 
new  picture  to  a  frame  that  we  like  and  are  accustomed 
to.  When  this  method  is  used,  we  should  place  a  comma 
after  the  word  "said'',  or  "replied'',  or  "retorted",  or  what- 
ever other  word  we  use  to  indicate  the  words  of  another, 
and  this  is  usually  followed  with  the  word  "that".  This 
introductory  word  is  not  always  expressed,  however. 
Whenever  a  series  of  statements  follows  the  predicate  it 
should  be  used,  but  where  the  discourse  is  comparatively 
brief  it  is  not  necessary.  "John  said  he  would  not  go"  is 
quite  as  good  as  "John  said  that  he  would  not  go".  But, 
in  the  following  example,  it  is  a  little  better  to  have  "that" 
expressed  before  each  clause,  in  order  to  keep  the  various 
statements  separate:  "He  said  that  the  matter  would  re- 
ceive his  attention,  that  no  stone  should  be  left  unturned 
to  make  it  right,  and  that  we  could  depend  upon  his  in- 
vestigation absolutely."  It  would  be  unwise  to  use  "that" 
before  one  of  these  clauses  and  not  before  the  others. 


DIRECT     DISCOURSE 

Direct  or  conversational  discourse  is  the  most  trouble- 
some for  beginners  in  writing.  The  punctuation  has  to 
be  looked  after  very  carefully  in  order  to  make  the  quoted 
part  clear  and  separate.  All  direct  statements  and  quota- 
tions must  be  marked  off  by  means  of  quotation  marks, 
and  when  it  is  necessary  to  place  a  quotation  within  a  quo- 
tation, these  marks  must  be  observed  with  mathematical 


3i6  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

accuracy,  for  the  quotations  must  be  kept  distinct  one  from 
another.  To  illustrate:  John  said,  **My  father  said  to 
me  sternly,  7c>hn,  you  must  not  do  this.'  " 

Here  we  see  there  are  two  direct  statements,  one  within 
the  other.  John  says  something  in  which  he  states  directly 
what  some  one  else  (his  father)  says.  While  it  is  not  usu- 
ally the  case,  such  quotation  may  be  extended  to  a  highly  in- 
volved degree.  To  illustrate  further:  John  said,  "My 
father  said  to  me  very  sternly,  'My  boy,  you  must  act  ac- 
cording to  that  famous  old  dictum,  "Well  begun  is  half 
done,"  if  you  would  make  a  success  of  your  work.'  " 

We  see  that  the  double  and  the  single  quotation  marks 
are  used  in  alternation  to  separate  the  several  parts  of  the 
quotation.  This  alternation  is  continued  to  whatever 
length  may  be  necessary  in  quoted  material.  In  the  above, 
the  marks  stand  as  follows: — 


[2] 

\m 

[31  I 

(21 

11] 

Ul 

J 

since  there  are  three  quotations  used  by  one  speaker.  In 
other  words,  the  quotations  stand  in  much  the  same  rela- 
tion as  the  parenthetical  quantities  in  an  algebraic  equa- 
tion : — 


[J  (      ■    )  N 


It  is  necessary  to  remember  always,  that  as  in  algebra 
a  bracket,  or  brace,  or  parenthesis  at  the  beginning  of  a 
quantity  must  have  a  corresponding  bracket  or  brace  or 
parenthesis  at  its  end,  so  also  in  quotations  our  quotation 
marks  must  always  be  paired.  Thus,  in  the  above  dia- 
gram ( I )  must  have  a  corresponding  ( i )  at  the  end,  and 


THE    DRAMATIC    PLAN  317 

(2)  and  (3)  likewise.  Not  to  observe  this  completion 
will  throw  the  reader  into  confusion. 

We  must  observe  here  also  that,  as  in  indirect  dis- 
course, the  words  "said",  "replied",  etc.,  are  followed  by 
the  comma  where  the  quotation  follows  them.  It  is  better, 
as  a  rule,  to  capitalize  the  first  word  of  every  direct  quota- 
tion, no  matter  how  many  quotations  occur  consecutively. 
This  rule  need  not  be  followed,  however,  if  in  quoting 
from  literature  we  commence  to  quote  in  the  middle  of  a 

line, —  " honor  is  the  subject  of  my  story".     Here  the 

quoted  part  begins  after  the  first  word  of  the  line  and  the 
first  word  in  our  quotation  need  not  be  capitalized  because 
it  is  not  capitalized  in  the  text  from  which  it  is  taken. 

The  great  importance  of  the  correct  use  of  quotation 
marks  can  be  seen  where  several  different  speeches  are 
quoted  within  a  single  paragraph.  Here  the  quotation 
marks  keep  speeches  separate  and  individual  which  other- 
wise would  appear  confused.  The  better  usage,  however, 
in  passages  of  continued  quotations,  is  to  give  each  quo- 
tation, however  short,  a  line  by  itself.  If  we  consult  our 
favorite  novels  and  stories,  we  shall  see  that  this  rule  is 
followed  pretty  generally,  quotations  being  allowed  within 
paragraphs  only  where  those  quotations  are  very  brief  and 
unimportant  (page  58). 

'  When  the  quotations  are  written  on  separate  lines  and 
the  discourse  is  between  two  persons  only,  it  is  not  neces- 
sary even  to  indicate  the  speakers,  for  the  alternation  is 
easily  followed  by  means  of  quotation  marks.  Even 
where  there  are  more  than  two  speakers,  some  writers  can 
conduct  the  conversation  lucidly  without  those  monotonous 
guiding  posts  already  referred  to, —  "John  said",  "Bill 
replied",  "retorted  John",  "answered  Bill",  "cried  John", 
"explained  Bill",  "John  put  in",  "hissed  Bill",  etc. 


3i8  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

Of  course,  we  have  a  wide  range  of  words  to  select 
from  to  relieve  this  monotony,  but  even  when  we  have 
used  them  all,  we  may  still  be  very  tiresome  to  our  read- 
ers. Examine  the  following  bit  of  conversation,  written 
in  both  ways: — 

I. 

The  Colonel  and  the  young  lieutenant  were  the  last  left  on  the 
old  bench.     Dusk  was  fast  closing  into  darkness. 

"Well,  perhaps  you're  right.  It's  certainly  very  odd.  Good 
night,"  said  the  elder  of  the  two,  as  he  got  up  to  go. 

"Good  night,  Colonel,"  replied  the  other. 

"Good  night,  my  boy,"  repeated  the  elder. 

"You'll  leave  in  the  morning,  then?"  called  the  younger. 

"O,  yes  indeed,"  came  the  Colonel's  answer  through  the  dark. 


The  Colonel  and  the  young  lieutenant  were  the  last  left  on  the 
old  bench.     Dusk  was  fast  closing  into  darkness. 

"Well,  perhaps  you're  right.  It's  certainly  very  odd.  Good 
night." 

"Good  night,  Colonel." 

"Good  night,  my  boy." 

"You'll  leave  in  the  morning,  then?" 

"O,  yes  indeed." 

Observe,  further,  the  following  page  of  conversational 
composition : — 

"Good  morning,  sir !" 

Startled  at  hearing  this  greeting  in  the  midst  of  such  a  crowd 
of  black  people,  I  turn  sharply  around  in  search  of  the  man,  and 
see  him  at  my  side,  with  the  blackest  of  faces,  but  animated  and 
joyous — a  man  dressed  in  a  long  white  shirt,  with  a  turban  of 
American  sheeting  around  his  woolly  head,  and  I  ask: — 

"Who  the  mischief  are  you?" 


.  THE   DRAMATIC    PLAN  319 

"I  am  Susi,  the  servant  of  Dr.  Livingstone,"  said  he,  smiling, 
and  showing  a  gleaming  row  of  teeth. 

"What!     Ls  Dr.  Livingstone  here?" 

''Yes,  sir." 

"In  this  village?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Are  you  sure?" 

"Sure,  sure,  sir.     Why,  I  leave  him  just  now." 

"Good  morning,  sir,"  said  another  voice. 

"Hallo,"  said  I,  "is  this  another  one?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Well,  what  is  your  name?" 

"My  name  is  Chumah,  sir." 

"What !  are  you  Chumah,  the  friend  of  Wekotani  ?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"And  is  the  Doctor  well?" 

"Not  very  well,  sir." 

"Where  has  he  been  so  long?" 

"In  Manyuema." — From  Henry  M.  Stanley's  A  Meeting  in  the 
Heart  of  Africa. 


DIALOGUE 

The  third  kind  of  discourse,  dramatic  or  dialogue,  is 
familiar  to  most  of  us  through  its  use  in  the  catechism,  and 
in  many  of  our  text-books.  Much  of  the  best  learning  of 
the  world  has  been  presented  by  means  of  the  dialogue 
method.  It  is  preeminently  an  expository  method.  We 
have  seen  that  full  answers  to  our  questions  will  eluci- 
date a  subject.  So,  if  we  are  writing  an  explanation  of 
some  subject  to  a  friend,  we  can  best  do  it  perhaps  by 
imagining  first  of  all  his  questions,  writing  them  down 
briefly,  and  then  stating  full  answers  to  them.  Some- 
times this  is  called  the  Greek  method,  because  it  was  so 
skilfully  used  by  Socrates  and  other  Greek  teachers.     So 


320  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

effective  and  beneficial  has  it  proved  that  it  is  now  used  by 
all  teachers. 

In  form,  the  dialogue  differs  from  the  two  foregoing 
styles  of  discourse  in  that  the  quotation  marks  and  the 
commas  are  not  used.     We  state  first  the  name,  as: — 

Teacher : 
Pupil : 

or  Question : 

Answer : 

or  John : — 

Bill:— 

or  Lawyer : — 

Witness : — 

following  it  with  a  colon  or  dash  or  both  in  every  case ; 
or  we  write  the  names  in  the  middle  of  the  page  between 
the  lines  of  the  dialogue. 

Care  should  be  taken  to  make  each  part  of  the  dia- 
logue grammatically  complete,  however.  We  should  not 
start  our  answer  to  a  question  with  the  word  "Because", 
or  with  any  other  denoting  dependence: — 

NOT — 

Teacher:     In  what  direction  is  England  from  New  York? 

Pupil  :   Northeast. 

Teacher:     Why  is  it  not  colder,  therefore? 

Pupil:     Because  it  is  warmed  by  the  gulf  stream. 

BUT — 

Teacher:     In  what  direction  is  England  from  New  York? 
Pupil:     England  is  northeast  of  New  York. 
Teacher:     Why  is  it  not  colder,  therefore? 
Pupil:     England  is  not  colder  than  New  York  because  it  is 
warmed  by  the  gulf  stream. 


THE    DRAMATIC    PLAN  321 

In  other  words,  the  answer  should  repeat  the  main 
part  of  the  question  as  a  subject.  The  question  should 
hkewise  be  directly  stated  and  should  never  imply  an 
answer.     Thus : — 

Teacher:     England  is  northeast  of  New  York,  isn't  it? 
Pupil  :    Yes. 

is  an  erroneous  form  of  question,  because  it  implies  the 
answer.  It  is  sometimes  called  the  leading  question. 
Moreover,  both  question  and  answer  are  wrong  here,  be- 
cause the  proper  proportion  between  the  two  is  lost  sight 
of.  "The  leading  question  always  induces  the  lazy  an- 
swer'', it  is  said.  The  answer  is  the  all-important  thing 
in  dialogue  of  this  expository  sort,  the  question  being 
merely  to  guide  and  direct.  The  answer  must  then  be  full 
and  explicit;  the  question,  short  and  to  the  point.  Where 
a  series  of  such  questions  and  answers  is  necessary  to 
elucidate  a  subject,  they  should  be  developed  slowly  and 
step  by  step  in  regular  order.  If  we  consult  a  series  of 
map  questions  in  geography,  or  of  review  questions  at 
the  conclusion  of  some  chapter  in  history,  we  shall  see  that 
they  develop  always  some  regular  line  of  thought  and  in- 
vestigation. 

DRAMATIZATION 

The  Dramatic  Plan: — When  the  dialogue  form  is  used 
to  tell  the  story  of  a  unified,  continued,  eventful  happening 
it  is  narrative  or  dramatic.  Drama  always  calls  for  the 
dialogue  form;  but  the  use  of  the  dialogue  form  of  dis- 
course does  not  always  imply  that  the  subject-matter  is 
dramatic,  as  we  have  seen  above.    To  be  dramatic,  a  theme 


322  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

must  contain  much  action,  usually  developed  as  narration  is 
developed,  and  also  steps  of  suspense  to  a  climax  and  con- 
clusion or  resolution.  Of  course,  there  is  also  much  litera- 
ture that  is  dramatic  that  is  not  cast  into  the  dialogue  form, 
but  it  can  very  easily  be  so  written  and  we  can  probably 
think  of  many  cases  where  it  has  been  done.  Dickens'  A 
Tale  of  Two  Cities  was,  we  know,  very  successfully  drama- 
tized and  played.  Omissions,  additions,  many  changes 
were  made,  to  be  sure,  but  its  main  theme,  in  and  of  itself, 
was  intensely  dramatic.  On  the  other  hand,  we  have  known 
a  whole  play  to  be  written  in  the  form  of  a  short  story  in 
which  the  chief  events  of  the  play  and  most,  if  not  all,  of 
the  characters  were  set  forth.  Lamb's  Tales  from  Shak- 
spere,  for  instance,  is  a  case  in  point.  Here  again  some- 
thing is  lost  in  the  conversion,  many  changes,  many  omis- 
sions, are  necessary,  but  the  center  or  core  of  the  dramatic 
story  remains  the  same. 

It  is  necessary  to  make  a  very  wise  choice  of  events 
from  a  story  if  it  is  to  be  converted  into  a  pleasing  drama. 
Selection  and  rejection  count  for  more  here  perhaps  than 
almost  anywhere  else.  In  every  novel  and  story  there  are 
long  descriptive  passages,  which  we  must  omit  in  our 
dramatization.  Then,  too,  there  are  always  a  number  of 
subsidiary  actions  which  are  unnecessary  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  main  theme  of  the  story.  We  must  decide 
whether  our  play  is  to  be  a  comedy  or  a  tragedy ;  whether 
it  is  to  be  a  play  for  amusement,  for  moral  uplift,  or  for 
laying  bare  some  great  social  wrong.  Always,  we  must 
have  some  purpose  in  mind  before  we  construct  our  plan, 
or  scenario  as  it  is  called,  for  the  selection  of  the  proper 
material  cannot  otherwise  be  made. 

It  behooves  us  in  our  reading  to  be  observant,  there- 
fore, of  dramatic  qualities.     Perhaps  we  can  select  certain 


THE   DRAMATIC    PLAN  323 

parts  of  some  long  stories  or  all  of  some  short  stories 
and  draw  up  dramatic  briefs  or  outlines  of  them.  This 
will  be  a  wholesome  exercise,  for  there  are  important  dif- 
ferences in  construction  between  the  drama  and  the  story 
or  novel. 

Enumerate  as  many  of  these  differences  as  you  can 
and  decide,  if  possible,  when  each  of  the  two  forms,  drama 
or  novel,  has  the  advantage  over  the  other. 

In  drawing  up  our  scenario  or  dramatic  brief  we 
should  first  state  our  title,  then  the  name  of  the  original 
writer  (if  we  have  borrowed  a  story),  or  dramatist  (if 
we  are  outlining  a  play),  then  a  complete  character  cast 
(or  dramatis  personam),  and  finally  a  summarized  state- 
ment of  the  time,  place,  and  chief  events  of  the  drama. 
This  concludes  our  brief  proper.  It  may  be  followed 
(should  be,  if  it  is  to  be  presented)  by  the  dialogue  written 
out  for  each  character. 

By  character  cast  we  mean  the  names  of  the  charac- 
ters participating  in  the  play,  together  with  a  short  ac- 
count of  who  they  are,  with  the  real  names  of  the  actors 
playing  the  parts,  thus : — 

James  Brown,  bank  cashier Mr.  Arthur  Drew. 

Everett  Brown,  his  son,  a  ne'er-do-well.  .Mr.  Thomas  Ryan. 

Any  one  of  various  methods  of  arrangement  may  be 
used  in  ordering  the  names  in  the  cast.  Sometimes  the 
most  important  is  placed  first;  sometimes  last.  Sometimes 
characters  are  placed  in  the  order  of  social  position. 
(This  used  to  be  the  case  always  in  plays  written  for  pres- 
entation under  monarchical  governments.)  Sometimes  all 
the  male  characters  come  first,  followed  by  the  female,  and 
then,  after  a  space,  the  name  of  the  leading  lady  or  gen- 


324  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

tleman.  Again,  the  characters  may  be  placed  in  the  cast 
in  the  order  of  their  several  appearances  in  the  play;  if 
''James  Brown"  is  the  first  actor  to  appear  after  the  cur- 
tain goes  up,  then  his  name  belongs  first  on  the  program, 
etc.  It  matters  not  which  one  of  these  methods  of  cast- 
ing we  select,  so  long  as  we  consistently  follow  one  of 
them. 

The  summary  of  the  time,  place  and  chief  events  (or 
argument)  of  the  play  should  be  made  in  sections  called 
acts.  These  represent  large  and  important  divisions  in 
the  movement  of  the  story.  Where  the  action  is  highly 
involved  we  may  subdivide  each  act  into  subdivisions  called 
scenes,  but  it  is  better  for  us  to  keep  our  action  and  our 
division  of  it  as  simple  as  possible.  Shaksperean  plays 
are  divided  into  five  acts  as  a  rule  and  each  one  of  these 
is  in  turn  divided  into  scenes.  But  in  our  day  a  simpler 
form  of  drama  is  required  and  the  play  of  three  or  four 
acts  is  most  common.  As  in  narration,  we  should  arrange 
to  have  our  climax  near  the  end;  if  our  play  consists  of 
three  acts,  we  will  place  it  near  the  end  of  the  second  or 
in  the  beginning  of  the  third,  and  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  third  act  we  will  conclude  the  story,  reserving  some 
element  of  surprise  or  some  unimportant  threads  of  ac- 
tion still  to  be  worked  out.  Our  first  act  must  contain 
exposition;  that  is,  it  must  always  lucidly  introduce  us  to 
the  characters  and  situation  of  the  play, — to  the  who,  the 
how,  the  when,  the  zvhere,  and  the  zi^hy.  If  our  play  is  to 
consist  of  four  acts,  the  first  and  the  last  should  deal  with 
those  matters  just  referred  to;  the  second  and  third  should 
deal  with  the  development  of  the  main  theme,  the  climax 
falling  near  the  end  of  the  third  act  or  possibly  early  in 
the  fourth.  In  short,  our  dramatic  brief  should  be  a 
program  for  a  play  that  is  to  be  presented.     It  will  re- 


THE    DRAMATIC    PLAN  325 

semble  a  real  theatrical  program,  but  with  the  story  of  the 
play  added. 

Of  the  three  dramatic  plans  following,   the  first  and 
third  are  brief  adaptations  from  short  stories : 

ICHABOD  CRANE    or  ICHABOD  CRANE 

Story  by  A  Drama 

Washington  Irving.  in  Three  Acts  by 

Dramatization  by  Robert  Blank,  based  upon 

Robert  Blank.  The  Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow 

by 
Washington  Irving. 

Character  Cast. 

Ichabod  Crane,  a  schoolmaster Mr.  John  Shaw- 

Katrina  Van  Tassel,  a  marriageable  heiress Miss  Evelyn  Hay. 

Brom  Bones    a  suitor  to  Katrina  and  a  village  "terror" 

Mr.  Lloyd  Smith. 

Baltus  Van  Tassel,  her  father Mr.  Thomas  Evans. 

Hans  von  Ripper,  a  prominent  citizen Mr.  Davis  Brown 

Pupils,  villagers,  farmers,  rowdies. 

ACT  I — Crane's  Schoolhouse — i  o'clock  p.  m. 

Argument :     Summons  to  Van  Tassel's  Party. 

ACT  II — The  Van  Tassel  House — Evening  of  the  same  day. 

Argument :      Merry-making.      Crane    and    Bones    in 
heated  rivalry  for  Katrina's  favor. 

ACT  III — Sleepy  Hollow — Later  the  same  night. 

Argument:    Crane  on  his  way  home  from  the  party, 
pursued  by  real  and  imaginary  *'bogies  " 


326  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

LOVE  AND  LOTTERY, 

An  Original  Drama  in  Four  Acts 

by 

Robert   Blank. 

Dramatis  Personce. 

William  B.  Shapland,  millionaire  elder  of  Grove  church 

Mr.  Jay  Roberts. 

Mollie  Shapland,  his  daughter,  a  "catch" Miss  Violet  Ray. 

Charles  Arscott,  her  weakling  fiance,  in  her  father's  employment 

Mr.  James  Ogden. 

Rev.  Alan  Brown,  pastor  of  a  poor  church Mr.  John  Holder. 

Mrs.  Alan  Brown,  his  wife Miss  Cora  Claire. 

"Billy"  Brown,  their  runaway  son,  formerly  engaged  to  Mollie 

Mr.  Donald  Drew. 
Messengers,  church  officers,  village  folk. 

Time — The  present.     Place — An  American  country  town. 

Synopsis  of  the  Play. 

ACT  I — The  Brown  Home — Afternoon. 

(The  parishioners  give  the  Browns  a  party.  "Billy," 
their  long-lost  wayward  son,  unexpectedly  returns.) 

ACT  II — The  Brown  House — Two  evenings  later. 

(The  Shaplands  and  Arscott  are  calling.  "Billy" 
congratulates  Mollie  and  Arscott  and  lays  bare  to 
the  company  his  experiences  as  a  spendthrift  and 
renegade.) 

ACT  III— Mr.  Shapland's  Office— A  few  days  later. 

(Rev.  Brown  and  his  wife  call  to  ask  help  to  pay 
Billy's  bad  debts.  While  waiting,  they  discuss  recent 
rumors  about  Arscott.  Billy  promises  reform. 
Mollie  happens  in.  She  pleads  with  her  father,  and 
partly  prevails  upon  him  to  employ  the  boy  and  help 
him  otherwise.) 


THE    DRAMATIC    PLAN  327 

ACT  IV— The  Village  Church— One  week  later. 

(All  hands  including  "Billy"  are  decorating  for  Mol- 
lie's  wedding.  Arscott  is  suddenly  called  for  by  Mr. 
Shapland's  secretary.  Rumors  of  his  defaulting  have 
been  heard.  A  telegram  arrives  for  "Billy"  telling 
him  of  his  enormous  success  in  a  lottery.  Arscott 
has  proven  untrustworthy.  Mollie  gives  her  hand  to 
"Billy.") 


JIM    HAWKINS,   HERO 

A  Play  in   Three  Acts,  adapted  from  Robert  Louis   Stevenson's 
famous  story,  Treasure  Island, 

by 
Robert  Blank 

Cast  of  Characters 


Sometime 
pirates 
under 
Captain  Flint 


Billy  Bones,  "a  true  sea  dog"  ^ 
Black  Dog,  his  old  shipmate. 

Pew,  a  blind  man 

Dirk,  a  ship  hand 

Johnny,  a  ship  hand , 

Mr.   Hawkins,  proprietor  of  the  Admiral   Bcnbow 

Mrs.  Hawkins,  his  wife 

Taylor,  his  gardener 

Mrs.  Crossley,  a  friend  of  Mrs.  Hawkins 

Dance,  supervisor  of  the  revenue  office 

Dogger,  one  of  his  men 

David  Livesey,  a  physician 

John  Trelawney,  Esquire,   "backer"  of  a  treasure 

seeking  expedition   

Thomas  Redruth  1  His 

Richard   Joyce    .  Uoyal 

John  Hunter   . . .  J  men 

Blandly,  his  friend  and  representative 


328  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

Alexander  Smollett,  captain  of  the  good  ship  His- 

paniola    

Arrow,  the  first  mate 

Job  Anderson,  the  boatswain 

Israel  Hands,  the  coxswain 

John  Silver  (known  also  as  "Long  John"  and  "Bar- 
becue"), cook  on  the  good  ship  Hispaniola.  . 

Harry  )  His  boys  at  the  

Ben      f ''Spy  Glass  Inn"  

"Captain  Flint,"  his  parrot 

Tom  Morgan,  his  friend,  l 

rj.  >•  "Honest  hands,"  Silver's  first  victims 

Tom    (  '  

Dick  Johnson,  a  "square  pirate" 

O'Brien,  a  "rank  Irelander"   

George  Merry,  a  "long  man  with  yellow  eyes". . . . 

Abraham  Gray,  "with  Captain  Smollett" 

Ben  Gunn,  a  marooned  pirate   

and 

JIM  HAWKINS,  cabin  boy,  adventurer,  and  hero 

Seamen,  servants,  and  villagers. 
Time:     the  eighteenth  century. 

ACT       I— England. 

Scene    i — At    the    Admiral    Benbow    Inn,    Black    Hill    Cove, 
England. 

Scene  2 — At  Bristol,  England. 

ACT     II — On  board  the  Hispaniola. 

Scene  i — The  deck  of  the  good  ship  Hispaniola. 
Scene  2 — The  cabin  of  the  good  ship  Hispaniola. 

ACT  HI — Treasure  Island. 

Scene  i — At  the  log-house.  Treasure  Island. 
Scene  2 — In  Ben  Gunn's  cave,  Treasure  Island. 


THE   DRAMATIC    PLAN  3^9 


SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  ACTION 

ACT   I. 

Billy  Bones,  an  old  pirate,  dies  at  the  Admiral  Benbow  Inn. 
He  leaves  a  chest  containing  a  valuable  diagram  of  the  exact 
geographical  location  of  a  buried  treasure.  Some  of  his  old  com- 
rades are  lurking  about  in  the  neighborhood  intent  upon  stealing 
this;  but  Jim  Hawkins  and  his  mother  rummage  the  chest  in 
search  of  money  due  them,  find  the  packet  containing  the  diagram 
(which  they  place  little  value  upon)  and  are  off  to  the  village  to 
escape  the  attack  upon  their  house  proposed  by  the  ex-pirates. 
Squire  Trelawney,  learning  the  contents  of  the  packet,  eager  for 
adventure,  fits  out  a  ship  to  go  in  search  of  the  treasure.  The 
crew  is  selected,  and  with  Hawkins  as  cabin  boy,  Smollett  as  cap- 
tain, Livesey  as  doctor,  and  John  Silver  as  cook,  the  good  ship 
Hispaniola  sets  sail  upon  her  hazardous  voyage. 

ACT    II. 

Jim  Hawkins,  concealed  in  an  apple  barrel  on  deck,  hears 
Silver  and  certain  of  his  loyal  followers  planning  treachery.  Tre- 
lawney and  his  men  are  to  be  killed,  the  diagram  taken,  and  the 
treasure  found  and  apportioned  among  the  mutineers.  Jim  se- 
cretly passes  the  word  to  Doctor  Livesey  and  tells  him  to  arrange 
a  secret  council  in  the  cabin.  Here  Jim  explains  the  situation, 
and  the  Captain,  Trelawney,  and  Doctor  Livesey  consider  it  well. 
Jim  is  made  to  feel  his  importance  and  his  responsibility,  and  all 
are  keyed  to  meet  any  emergency. 

ACT    III. 

The  mutiny  has  come,  with  losses  on  both  sides.  Though  all 
the  principals  have  been  spared,  they  are  in  Silver's  power  in  the 
little  log-house  on  the  island.  Jim  returns  from  a  great  adven- 
ture which  he  defiantly  tells  to  his  captors.  When  the  actual  hunt 
for  the  treasure  is  made,  the  mutineers  are  disappointed  to  find  that 
someone  has  been  before  them,  for  the  spot  where  it  should  be, 
according  to  the  chart,  reveals  nothing  but  ^  huge  hole.    This  is 


330 


COMPOSITION    PLANNING 


explained  in  the  next  scene  by  the  appearance  of  Ben  Gunn,  a 
marooned  pirate,  whom  Jim  has  met  before  in  his  travels  over  the 
island,  and  whom  Silver  has  previously  known  in  his  adventures 
on  the  sea.  Ben  Gunn  has  the  treasure  safely  stored  in  his  cave 
and  Silver  acknowledges  with  much  chagrin  that  he  has  been 
worsted  by  his  old  enemy.  His  little  victory  is  turned  to  sudden 
defeat;  the  old  officers  of  the  Hispaniola  resume  their  places,  and 
preparations  for  departure  begin. 

Stage  Directions: — If  our  play  is  to  be  acted  it  is  neces- 
sary to  write  the  dialogue  for  each  character.  In  addi- 
tion, we  must  also  state  clearly  certain  directions  for  the 
players.  Many  of  these  occur  interspersed  through  the  dia- 
logue placed  in  parentheses  and  written  in  italics.  They 
should  give  information  as  to  entrances  and  exits  on  our 
stage,  dress  and  make-up,  stage  furnishings,  and  stage 
''business'';  that  is,  the  special  action  to  be  employed  by 
the  actor.  Such  points  as  dress  and  make-up  and  stage 
furnishings  may  need  to  be  stated  at  the  beginning  of  each 
act;  points  relating  to  exits  and  entrances  and  ''business" 
may  be  introduced  anywhere.  Frequently,  a  stage  plan  is 
drawn  as  follows;  we  can  vary  it  to  suit  our  own  school 
conditions : 


Upper  Right 


Lower  Righ 


Upper  Left 


Lower  Left 


Front 


If  this  were  our  stage  arrangement,  we  would  indicate  the 
various  exits  or  entrances  by  means  of  letters ;  as, 


THE   DRAMATIC   PLAN  331 

(Enter  U.  L.)     Enter  Upper  Left. 
(Enter  L.  R.)     Enter  Lower  Right, 
etc. 

Moreover,  by  using  the  diagram,  we  can  indicate  the  fur- 
nishings or  give  the  stage  settings,  as  is  done  here.  Color 
schemes,  however,  will  have  to  be  indicated  by  writing. 
Directions  in  regard  to  character  make-up  may  be  illus- 
trated thus: — 

(Rev.  Alan  Brown — black  suit  of  clerical  cut;  top  hat;  um- 
brella; Bible;  mutton-chop  whiskers;  glasses;  bald  frontal;  stilted 
and  conventional  in  manner  and  movement.) 

And  ''business"  should  be  indicated  always  at  the  place  it 
is  intended  to  be  acted ;  thus : — 

Lord  Fop:  [^Asidcl  So!  she  would  inquire  into  my  amours 
— that's  jealousy,  poor  soul ! — I  see  she's  in  love  with  me. — 
[Aloud.']  O  Lord,  madam,  I  had  like  to  have  forgot  a  secret  I 
must  needs  tell  your  ladyship. — Ned,  you  must  not  be  so  jealous 
now  as  to  listen. 

Love:  [Leading  Berinthia  up  the  stage.]  Not  I,  my  lord;  I 
am  too  fashionable  a  husband  to  pry  into  the  secrets  of  my  wife. 

Lord  Fop:  [Aside  to  Amanda,  squeezing  her  hand.]  I  am  in 
love  with  you  to  desperation,  strike  me  speechless ! 

Aman:  [Strikes  him  on  the  ear.]  Then  thus  I  return  your 
passion. — An  impudent  fool ! 

Lord  Fop :     Gad's  curse,  madam,  I  am  a  peer  of  the  realm ! 

Love :  [Hastily  returning.]  Hey !  what  the  devil,  do  you 
affront  my  wife,  sir?    Nay,  then [Draws.     They  fight.] 

Aman:  What  has  my  folly  done? —  Help!  murder!  help! — 
Part  them,  for  Heaven's  sake. 

Lord  Fop :  [Falls  back  and  leans  on  his  sword.]  Ah !  quite 
through  the  body,  stap  my. vitals! — From  R.  B.  Sheridan's  A  Trip 
to  Scarborough. 

Our  dialogue  should  indicate  the  actual  business  wherever 
possible.      Shakspere   has   nearly   always   indicated    action 


332  COMPOSITION   PLANNING 

by  the  word.  Hamlet  in  his  advice  to  the  players  advised 
suiting  the  action  to  the  word.  Hence,  when  Brutus  says, 
"For  so  much  gold  as  may  be  grasped  thus'',  ''thus"  really 
amounts  to  a  stage  direction  for  gesture.  We  can  find 
many  such  subtle  directions  on  almost  every  page  of 
Shakspere's  plays,  if  we  keep  our  minds  open  while  read- 
ing them. 

EXERCISE 

I.     Write  the  following  passage  from  Dickens  (i) 
in  conversational  form  and  (2)  in  dialogue  form. 

Had  he  ever  been  a  spy  himself?  No,  he  scorned  the  base  in- 
sinuation. What  did  he  live  upon?  His  property.  Where  was 
his  property?  He  didn't  precisely  remember  where  it  was.  What 
was  it?  No  business  of  anybody's.  Had  he  inherited  it?  Yes,  he 
had.  From  whom?  Distant  relation.  Very  distant?  Rather. 
Ever  been  in  prison?  Certainly  not.  Never  in  a  debtors'  prison? 
Didn't  see  what  that  had  to  do  v/ith  it.  Never  in  a  debtors'  prison? 
— Come,  once  again.  Never?  Yes.  How  many  times?  Two  or 
three  times.  Not  five  or  six?  Perhaps.  Of  what  profession? 
Gentleman.  Ever  been  kicked?  Might  have  been.  Frequently? 
No.  Ever  kicked  down  stairs?  Decidedly  not;  once  received  a 
kick  on  the  top  of  a  staircase,  and  fell  down  stairs  of  his  own 
accord.  Kicked  on  that  occasion  for  cheating  at  dice?  Some- 
thing to  that  effect  was  said  by  the  intoxicated  liar  who  committed 
the  assault,  but  it  was  not  true.  Swear  it  was  not  true?  Posi- 
tively. Ever  live  by  cheating  at  play?  Never.  Ever  live  by 
play?  Not  more  than  other  gentlemen  do.  Ever  borrow  money 
of  the  prisoner?  Yes.  Ever  pay  him?  No.  Was  not  this  in- 
timacy with  the  prisoner,  in  reality  a  very  slight  one,  forced  upon 
the  prisoner  in  coaches,  inns,  and  packets?  No.  Sure  he  saw 
the  prisoner  with  these  lists?  Certain.  Knew  no  more  about  the 
lists?  No.  Had  not  procured  them  himself  for  instance?  No. 
Expect  to  get  anything  by  this  evidence?  No.  Not  in  regular 
government  pay  and  employment,  to  lay  traps?    Oh,  dear  no.     Or 


THE   DRAMATIC    PLAN  333 

to  do  anything?  Oh,  dear  no.  Swear  that?  Over  and  over  again. 
No  motives  but  motives  of  sheer  patriotism?  None  whatever. — 
From  Dickens'  A  Tale  of  Two  Cities. 

II.     Report  part  of  the  conversation  in  one  of  your 
classes,  both  directly  and  indirectly. 

III.  Explain  the  working  of  a  camera  or  of  some 
other  thing  v^ith  vv^hich  you  are  familiar,  by  means  of 
dialogue  question  and  ansv^er. 

IV.  Write  an  imaginary  dialogue  betw^een  a  mouse 
and  a  trap,  (a)  before  the  mouse  is  caught,  (b)  after  the 
mouse  is  caught. 

V.     Convert  the  following  indirect  expressions  into 
the  direct  form: — 

1.  They  said  they  preferred  apples  to  peaches. 

2.  He  replied  to  my  query  as  to  his  destination  that  he  was 
going  to  London. 

3.  He  retorted  that  I  should  never  go  with  his  consent. 

4.  He  was  very  angry  when  I  told  him  that  he  was  as  fat  as 
I  was  tall. 

5.  When  I  inquired  the  way  to  the  place,  the  tall  man  said 
it  was  too  complicated  to  explain. 

6.  She  told  me  that  she  had  lost  the  book  but  begged  me  not 
to  divulge  the  fact  to  her  mother. 

7.  Evans  said  that  he  could  not  eat  meat  because  it  invariably 
poisoned  him. 

8.  He  asked  me  if  I  was  aware  that  I  had  dropped  my  book. 

9.  When  I  asked  him  how  he  did  it,  he  explained  that  it  was 
a  secret. 

10.  As  they  were  descending  from  the  mountain,  she  called  that 
she  could  go  no  further. 

VI.  Convert  the  following  direct  expressions  into  the 
indirect  form: — 

I.  "Where  have  you  been?"  I  asked  John  as  he  entered  the 


334  COMPOSITION    PLANNING 

2.  "You  ought  not  to  have  allowed  him  to  cheat  you,"  she  said. 

3.  "He  will  not  be  so  unjust  as  to  deprive  me  of  my  child," 
wept  the  impoverished  mother. 

4.  While  we  were  sailing  quietly  along,  Mary  murmured,  "O, 
dear,  I  wish  we  could  keep  right  on  forever." 

5.  "Keb!  Keb!  'Av  a  Keb,  Sir!"  called  the  cabbies  as  we  ar- 
rived at  the  station. 

6.  To  my  inquiry  she  replied,  "Take  the  first  road  on  your 
right  and  the  old  homestead  will  be  seen  on  the  left  just 
after  you  make  the  turn." 

7.  "How  could  you  have  so  far  forgotten  yourself,"  she  asked, 
.  "after  I  had  warned  you  about  this  very  thing?" 

8.  They  said,  "As  we  were  going  into  the  cavern  the  boatman 
came  running  after  us  calling,  'Wait  a  moment,  you  have 
left  your  wraps  behind.' " 

9.  He  asked,  "Please  tell  me  who  said,  'Give  me  liberty  or  give 
me  death/  " 

10.  "Did  he  convince  you  of  the  truth  of  the  matter?"  I  asked. 
"O  dear  no !"  replied  the  Doctor. 

VII.     Punctuate  the  following : — 

1.  They  said  the  speaker  quoted  those  famous  lines  from  Long- 
fellow life  is  real,  life  is  earnest  and  the  grave  is  not  its 
goal  and  we  felt  that  they  were  appropriate. 

2.  To  the  question  how  old  are  you  he  replied  younger  than  I 
look  and  older  than  I  act. 

3.  I  met  a  man  by  the  wayside  he  commenced  to  whom  I  said 
tell  me  my  man  what  you  conceive  to  be  the  chief  end  of  life. 
Death  he  replied,  and  went  on  with  his  work  as  if  I  had 
already  met  that  end. 

4.  The  teacher  said  please  close  the  door  John  certainly  re- 
plied he  as  he  courteously  did  it. 

.  5.  Place  the  plank  here  where       Here  by  the  wall       Why  not 
there  out  of  the  sun     Because  I  want  it  nearer  the  workshop 

VIII.     Write  the  following  first  in  direct  and  then  in 
indirect  discourse.    What  is  lost  or  gained  in  each  case? 


THE    DRAMATIC    PLAN  335 

Clerk:     I  refuse  to  comply  with  your  request. 

Employer:     Then  you  must  leave  my  service  at  once. 

Clerk:  Very  v^ell,  Sir;  but  remember  that  I  reserve  the  right 
to  expose  you  and  your  business  methods. 

Employer :  Do  your  worst,  young  man ;  you  cannot  ruin  a 
business  with  the  world-wide  reputation  mine  enjoys,  if  you  devote 
your  whole  life  to  petty  revenge. 

Clerk:     We  shall  see.     Good  morning.  Sir. 

IX.  Using  the  above  bit  of  dialogue  as  a  nucleus,  im- 
agine the  full  situation,  develop  three  or  four  acts  from 
it,  and  extend  the  dialogue. 

X.  Make  a  dramatic  plan  of  some  event  reported  in 
the  newspaper.  Use  your  imagination  for  extending  it 
and  rounding  it  out. 

XL  Enlarge  upon  the  following  episode.  Divide  it 
into  acts.    Write  the  dialogue  for  at  least  one  act. 

Evelyn  is  giving  a  party  to  her  young  friends.  Tea  has 
been  prepared  and  the  company  is  enjoying  it.  Her  brother  Ralph 
and  his  boy  friends  who  are  playing  "Indian"  enter  and  turn  things 
upside  down.  There  is  much  confusion  and  many  hard  words 
are  heard  before  the  Indians  depart.  Then  things  are  set  in  order 
and  tea  resumed. 

XII.     Make  a  list  of  short  stories  suitable  for  drama- 
tization.    Dramatize  one  of  them. 


INDEX 


Accent,  202. 

Adjectives,  in  description,  278. 
Adverbs,  in  description,  278. 
Addison's    The    Tatler,   quoted, 

82. 
Address,  in  letters,  150-154. 
Adherence,  15. 
Advertisements,      answers      to, 

161-162. 
Affirmative,  in  argument,  291. 
Analytic  plan,  defined,  102; 

illustrated,   105-106. 
Application  letters,  162. 
Arabic  numerals,  14,  44. 
Argument,  defined,  220; 

extempore,  210,  309; 

relation  to  other  forms,  308; 

single,  296; 

team,  297; 

terms  of,  291. 
Argumentative  brief,  299-301. 
Argumentative  plan,  290. 
Arnold's    Sohrah    and    Rustum 

outlined,  12. 
Arrangement  of  material,  23. 
Authority  in  argument,  294-295. 
Autobiography,  260. 
Autobiographic  exposition,  231. 


B 

Balanced  sentence,  188-189. 

Biography,  260. 

Body,  or  discussion,  35-38,  48. 

Borrow's  Lavengro,  quoted,  83. 

Bracket  plan,  defined,  106; 
illustrated,  107. 

Breathing,   198-199. 

Briefing  an  argument,  292-293. 

Bunyan's    The  Pilgrim's  Prog- 
ress, titles  in,  175. 

Business  letters,  162-165. 

Byron's      Mazeppa,      narrative 
type,  256. 


Capitalization,    in    letters,    150, 

153; 

in  plans,  28; 

in  titles,  175-176. 
Captain,  in  debate,  297. 
Character  cast,  323. 
Character  make-up,  331. 
Character  sketch,  240-243. 
Choice  of  words,  201 ; 

in  description,  278. 
Chronological  order,  10. 
Circular  letters,   165-166. 


337 


338 


INDEX 


Circumstance,      arguments      of, 

294-295. 
Clausal  plan,  defined,  91 ; 

illustrated,  92-93. 
Climax,  defined,  249-250; 

proportion  of,   251. 
Coherence,  in  composition,  183- 
184; 

in  paragraphs,  66. 
Coleridge's  The  Ancient  Mari- 
ner, order  in,  50. 
Combination  plan,  95. 
Common    errors,    in    speaking, 
202-207 ; 

in  writing,   178-183. 
Complimentary  closing,  152-153. 
Composite  paragraph,  79. 
Composition,  form  in,  177; 

kinds   of,  219; 

oral,  196; 

written,   174. 
Concentration,   198. 
Conclusion,    in    argument,    294- 

295; 
in  description,  268; 
in  exposition,  239-241 ; 
in  general  plan,  35,  48; 
in  narration,  250-251,  257. 
Condition,    arguments    of,    294- 

295. 
Congratulatory  letters,   159-160. 
Contrasts  in  paragraphs,  y6. 
Conversation,     importance     of, 

207-210. 
Conversation  in  paragraphs,  58- 

59. 
Conversational    discourse,    315- 

319. 


Cooper's  Last  of  the  Mohicans, 

description  in,  277. 
Creighton's  The  Crimean  War, 

quoted,  105. 

D 

Debate,  single,  297; 

team,  296. 
Deductive  plan,  102. 
Detail  in  description,  266. 
Description,  defined,  220. 
Description,      by      comparison, 
280; 

by  effect,  281 ; 

by  sense  testimony,  279. 
Descriptive  plan,  265. 
Description  and  exposition,  226- 

Description,   negative,   282-283 ; 

simple,  268-269,  278. 
Development,  or  discussion,  35- 

38,48. 
Diacritical  marks,  202. 
Diagrams,   in   description,   280- 
283; 
in  exposition,  227. 
Dialogue,  319. 
Diaphragmatic    breathing,    199- 

200. 
Dickens'       Pickwick       Papers, 

quoted,  83. 
Dickens'  A  Tale  of  Two  Cities, 
order  in,  51 ; 
quoted,  79. 
Dictionary,  use  of,  201-202. 
Discourse,  kinds  of,  314; 
conversational,   315-319; 


INDEX 


339 


dialogue,  319; 

direct,   315-319; 

dramatic,  321 ; 

indirect,  315; 

simple,  315. 
Discussion,    body    or    develop- 
ment, 35,  48. 
Drama  and  novel,  322-323. 
Dramatic  discourse,  321. 
Dramatic  plan,  314,  323. 
Dramatis  personce,  323. 
Dramatization,  321. 


Echo- words,  64; 

illustrative  paragraph,  64-65. 
Eliot's  Felix  Holt,  quoted,  73. 
Eliot's    Silas    Marner,    descrip- 
tion in,  282; 

order  in,  51. 
Emphasis,    in    argument,    294- 

295; 
in  composition,  185-186; 
in  paragraphs,  6^. 
Episode,  defined,  255. 
Epithets   and   idioms,   illiterate, 

203-207. 
Epithets  in  description,  275. 
Errors,    in    epithet    and   idiom, 
202; 
in  grammar,  181; 
in  pronunciation,  202; 
in  use  of  words,  203. 
Experience,  arguments  of,  294- 

295- 
Exposition  and  description,  226- 
22y, 


Exposition,  defined,  220. 
Exposition,     enumerative,    234- 

235; 

inverted,  230-231 ; 

plain,  227-228. 
Expository  plan,  225. 
Extemporaneous   speaking,   208. 
Events,  planning  by,  125. 


Form    of    expression,    in    plan- 
ning, 26-28. 
Form,  in  oral  composition,  200; 

in  written  composition,  177. 
Formal  letters,  138-143. 
Formal  plan,  defined,  35-36; 

illustrated,  36,  38,  39. 


Generic  terms,  21. 
Gestures,  200-201. 
Glance,  in  description,  266. 
Goldsmith's  Vicar  of  Wakefield, 
order  in,  51 ; 

titles  in,  175. 
Grammar,  181. 
Graphic  plan,  defined,  13; 

illustrated,  13,  14. 

H 

Heading,  in  letters,  148-149. 
Headline  plan,  defined,  113; 

illustrated,  11 5-1 17. 
Hesitation  in  speaking,  207. 
How,  in  exposition,  235. 


340 


INDEX 


Idioms   and    epithets,    illiterate, 

203-207. 
Impersonation,  209. 
Impression,    in   argument,   294- 
295; 

in  description,  2(iy\ 

in  paragraphing,  75. 
Indirect  discourse,  315. 
Informal  letters,  138,  143. 
Informal  plan,  defined,  29; 

illustrated,  23-24. 
Interchangeable    plans,    defined, 

95; 
illustrated,  97-101. 
Introduction,  in  argument,  294- 
295; 
in  description,  266-270; 
in  exposition,  226,  236,  238; 
in  general  composition,  35-48 ; 
in  narration,  254-255; 
Introduction,  incidental,  52. 
Introduction,  omitted,  52. 
Irving's  The  Alhanibra,  quoted, 

82. 
Irving's  The  Legend  of  Sleepy 
Hollow,  description  in,  275 ; 
dramatic  plan  of,  325. 
Irving's    The    Life    of    Oliver 
Goldsmith,    outline    quoted, 


II-12. 


K 


Key-words,  62. 

Kinds  of  composition,  219; 

discourse,  314; 

letters,  138; 


paragraphs,  78; 
plans,  86; 
sentences,  187-189. 
Kingsley's  Westward  Ho,  quot- 
ed, 71. 


Leading  question,  321. 
Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow,  The, 

dramatic  plan  of,  325. 
Letter  forms,   145-146. 
Letter  margining,  145-146. 
Letter,  parts  of,  144. 
Letter  plan,  137. 
Letters,  classification  of,  138. 
Letters,  application,  162; 

business,  162-165 ; 

circular,  166; 

congratulatory,  159-160; 

formal,   138-143; 

informal,  138-143; 

newspaper,   167; 

order,  164-165; 

sample  plans  of,  155-168; 

school,   158; 

sympathy,  160. 
Loose  sentence,  188-189. 
Love     and     Lottery,     dramatic 

plan  of,  326. 
Loweirs    The    Vision    of    Sir 
Launfal,  order  in,  51 ; 

outlined,  12. 

M 

Macaulay's    Lays     of    Ancient 

Rome,  narrative  type,  256. 
Make-up,  character,  331, 


INDEX 


341 


Margin,  in  compositions,  177 ; 

in  letters,  145-146; 

in  paragraphs,  57; 

in  plans,  44-45. 
Meredith's  The  Ordeal  of  Rich- 
ard Fever  el,  quoted,  75. 
Method,  in  argument,  293-294; 

in    description,    265-266,    270, 
285-286; 

in  exposition,  228,   230,   236- 

243; 
in   narration,   250,    254,   260- 

261 ; 
in  paragraphing,  70-78; 
in  speaking,  211-212. 
Mispronunciations,  list  of,  203- 

206. 
Misuses,  list  of,  206-207. 
Mutilated  endings,  203-204. 

N 

Names,  advice  as  to,  47-48. 
Narration,  defined,  220. 
Narration,  bad,  256; 
rapid,  256-257; 
slow,  246,  257. 
jSlarrative  exposition,  231-232. 
Narrative  plan,  246. 
Nasality,  200. 
Negative  argument,  299. 
Negative  description,  282-283. 
Negative  form  of  question,  291- 

292. 
Nervousness,  197-198. 
Newspaper  letters,  167. 
Nichols*  Milt  on' s  Short  er 

Poems  and  Sonnets,  quoted, 

109. 


Nouns,  in  description,  278; 

in  narration,  246. 
Novel  and  drama,  322-323. 
Numerals,  Arabic,  14,  44; 

Roman,  14,  44. 

O 

Occurrences,    paragraph    meth- 
od, y2. 
Oral  composition,  196. 
Oratory,  209. 
Order  letters,  164-165. 


Paragraph,  conversation  in,  58- 

59; 

defined,  56; 

illustrated,  64,  66, 
Paragraph-composition  plan,  6^- 

^, 
Paragraph    development,    com- 
parison, y6\ 

composite,  79; 

impressions,  75; 

occurrences,  72; 

particulars,  74; 

thoroughness,  71. 
Paragraph  length,  57. 
Parallel  plan,  in  biography,  109- 
no; 

in  English,  112; 

in  history,  in; 

in  language,  in ; 

in  literature,  no; 

in  science,  112. 
Parallel  sentence,  188-189. 
Participial  closing,  152. 


342 


INDEX 


Particulars  in  paragraphing,  74. 

Pause,  213. 

Periodic  sentence,  188-189. 

Phrasal  plan,  87. 

Phrasing,  213-214. 

Picture  plan,  13. 

Places,  planning  by,  125. 

Plans  (illustrative) 

analytic,    105-106; 

argumentative,  295,  299,  301 ; 

bracket,   107; 

clausal,  92-93 ; 

combination,  97-101 ; 

deductive,   105-106; 

descriptive,  267-271,  273,  285- 
286; 

dramatic,  325,  326,  327; 

expository,  229-230,  232,  234, 
240,  243; 

formal,  36,  38,  39; 

graphic,  13; 

informal,  23; 

letter,   155-168; 

narrative,  247,  248,  251,  252, 
259,  261 ; 

parallel,  109-112; 

phrasal,  87-91 ; 

picture,  13; 

paragraph,  64,  65,  71,  73-75, 

rebuttal,  307; 

running,  9,  10,  11,  12; 

running-graphic,  46; 

sentence,  94-95 ; 

study,  105-106; 

topical,  86-87. 
Planning,  importance  of,  3-7. 
Poe's  Tales,  order  in,  51. 


Point  of  view,  defined,  120-121 ; 
illustrated,       in       description, 

272-273,  276-277; 
illustrated,  in.  general  compo- 
sition,    124,     125-130,     131- 
132; 
moving,    126,  273; 
personal,   126-127; 
physical,  126,  272. 
Position  for  speaking,  200. 
Preparation    of    speeches,    211- 

212. 
Process  of  plan  building,  19-22. 
Pronunciation,  203-205. 
Proportion,   10. 
Punctuation,     in     letters,     148- 

151; 
in  plans,  28. 
Purpose,  defined,  127; 
illustrated,    129-132; 
wrong,  132-134. 


Q 

Question   and   answer,   225-226, 

320-321. 
Question     in     debate,     291-292, 

299. 
Question,  leading,  321. 
Quotation,  317. 
Quotation  marks,  316. 
Quotation      within      quotation, 

316. 


Rebuttal,  305-306. 
Reference,  in  plans,  14. 


INDEX 


343 


Refutation,  305-306; 

plan  for,  307. 
Rejection  of  material,  20-21. 
Relation    of   composition    types, 

221-223. 
Resolution,  in  drama,  324; 

in  story,  250-251. 
Roman  numerals,  14,  44. 
''Rough-and-ready"  plan,  89. 
Running-graphic    plan,    defined, 

47; 
illustrated,  46-47. 
Running  plan,  8. 


Salutation,  in  letters,  150. 
Scenario,  323. 
Scope,  in  composition,  42 ; 
in  questions  for  debate,  298- 
299. 
Scott's  Ivanhoe,  description  in, 

275; 
order  in,  51. 
Scott's  The  Monastery,  quoted, 

74. 

Scott's    Quentin    Durward,    de- 
scription in,  2yy. 

Selection  of  material,  20-21. 

Senses,  in  description,  279. 

Sentence  plan,  94. 

Sentence  sound,  179. 

Sentences,  kinds   of,   188-189. 

Sequence,  in  composition,  10; 
in  sentences,  180-183. 

Shakspere,   stage  directions   in, 
332. 

Sheridan's  A   Trip  to  Scarbor- 
ough, quoted,  321. 


Similes  in  description,  280. 

Simple  discourse,  314. 

Slurred  pronunciations,  203-204. 

"Snap"   arguments,   294-295. 

Speaking,   196. 

Specific  terms,  21. 

Spelling,  178. 

Stage  business,  331. 

Stage  directions,  330. 

Stage   plan,  330.  » 

Stevenson's      The     Dynamiter, 

quoted,  yy. 
Stevenson's     Treasure     Island, 

dramatic  plan  of,  327. 
Study  plan,  defined,  102; 

illustrated,   105-106. 
Subdivision,  process  of,  20-23. 
Subject,  of  composition,  175. 
Subjects  and  titles,  174-177. 
Subordinate  topics,  lo-ii. 
Subordination,  degrees  of,  26; 

in  paragraphing,  67-69; 

in  planning,  11 ; 

in   speaking,  214. 
Summary  sentence,  61. 
Suspense,  defined,  249; 

proportion  of,  251. 
Syllabication,  178. 
Sympathetic  letters,   160. 
Synopsis,  in  dramatic  plan,  324. 


Tabulation,  43-45. 
Thoroughness     in     paragraphs, 

71- 
TOPIC,    key    v^ord    to    para- 
graphing, 78. 


344 


INDEX 


Topical  plan,  86. 
Topics,  major,  lo-ii; 

minor,  lo. 
Topic  sentence,  60. 
Time,  planning  by,  125. 
Titles  and  subjects,  174-177. 
Treasure  Island,  dramatic  plan 
of,  327- 

U 

Uniformity,  26. 

Unity,  in  paragraphs,  66; 

in     whole     composition,     183, 
184-185. 
Usage,  202-208. 


Variety,  defined,  186-191 ; 

plan  of,   191. 
Verbs,  in  description,  278; 

in  narration,  253. 
Voice,  management  of,  199; 

use  of,  199-200. 


W 

Words,  in  discourse,  317; 

for  variety,   187. 
Written  composition,  174. 


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